Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Team Twilight
by HopeThePixii
Summary: Pixii Firesong, an orphaned Charmander, forms an Exploration Team with Synth, a shunned Treeko. Follow them on their journey as they learn just how much friendship can heal.
1. Prologue

**A/N:**** Hey peoples! I know I haven't updated my other stories, but I'm waiting for reviews! And writer's block hath stricken me! XD I've had the idea of a PMD fic in my head for like three weeks, and I need to make room for the other ideas and inspirations to form in there, because the space is limited. It won't be the traditional 'Oh no, I'm a pokemon, but I was a human before!!' story, but it'll be kinda dark. No where near what other authors have done, but it will be sad every now and then. This'll be the Prologue, tell me what ya think! **

Have you ever had one of those days where it seems like the world is out to get you? Where no matter what you do to try to fix things everything keeps crashing down? I have, and if you have too then try to relate to my tale.

I'm an only child, and so were my parents. That doesn't sound too bad, right? Well when you add the fact that your father is abusive, and your mother is the object of his wrath, do you get the picture? Then, one day, a group of rogue Houndoom show up at your house, and tear your parents apart. You end up witnessing their brutal murder, and are left to run for your life. Imagine your luck when you stumble upon a cave entrance hidden from sight by a bush on Sharpedo Bluff. You enter the cave, and low and behold, there are barrels of food, a small fountain of water, supplies for a fire, _and_ beds set up, plus a wonderful view of the beach.

You decide to stay here, because I mean, who wouldn't?? Then you go to sleep, and are haunted by the images of your parents' lifeless corpses. When you wake up you breakdown and sob the entire night. Then, you hear footsteps…

That's what happened to me, and that was my bad day. Have you ever experienced a day as bad as this? I'm sure you have, I mean, even _I _have! My dad's beatings weren't only reserved for my mother…

I am Pixii Firesong, and this is my tale.

**A/N:**** See? Not traditional! It's a little short for a prologue, but it'll do. Anymore, and it'll give away spoilers! Please tell me what you think!**

**Pixii out!**


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N:**** Here's chapter 1. It was so easy to write, I might actually stick with this story for a while! XD I know it's a terrible thing to say, considering I have two other fics, but I want at least ten reviews for Scarred for Life, and five for Alone in Life. I'm evil, I know, but deal with it. BTW, Pixii would be like 16/17 in the real world, and Synth would be 17/18. Tell me what you think of this chapter, I'd appreciate it! **

Sobs wracked my frame as realization of what had happened to me came crashing down. I was now an orphan, I had no experience with fighting, therefore I had no protection or way of income. I was now alone because of my parents' deaths, and I was being sheltered by a cave. The image of my mother's glossed-over eyes attacked my vision, I sobbed harder, wishing she had survived. The flame on the end of my tail burned larger as I remembered the Houndoom that took her from me.

Is it terrible that I wasn't upset about my father's death, and that I was actually relieved he was no longer able to hurt my mother? I hoped not, because then I was worse off than I thought. I missed my mother profusely, she was the only friend I ever really had. I was now miles upon miles from home. I hadn't realized until now how far away exactly. We lived at least a hundred miles from the sea, and I was situated over a beach!

I was broken out of my trance-like state by the sound of bushes rustling overhead, and faint footsteps in the corridor that lead down here. Afraid, I hid behind a barrel, and shielded the light given off by my tail. A Treeko emerged from the doorway of the cave, and sighed as he sat down on the bed I had been on previously. He seemed surprised for a second, but soon settled down. After about twenty minutes of sitting on the bed and examining an average sized gemstone settled in his hands, he got up and left the cave.

I let out a relieved sigh, even though I was a fire type, I didn't know any of the traditional moves that came along with being a Charmander. I only knew scratch and growl, being inept in fighting.

I went over to the large window-like ledge in the front of the cave and saw a small green dot in the beach below. I soon realized that it was the Treeko from earlier. He looked extremely depressed, much like I felt. He looked like he needed a friend right now, so I hesitated when I saw a Tailow and a Pidgey come up on either side of him.

I didn't have a problem rushing out of the cave when I saw what they did next though. The two bird pokemon kicked sand in his face, and I could tell that they were probably making fun of him, too.

I rushed through the unfamiliar town, receiving scolding upon scolding for pushing pokemon out of the way as I ran. When I reached a fork in the road at the edge of the town I went down, because I could smell seawater coming from that way.

I had rushed quickly enough to see the birds flitting away from the beach, chatting about how weak the Treeko was. When I caught sight of him I had to choke back a sob. He looked so much worse close up. He was sitting, with his shoulders slouched over, shaking. His eyes were closed, and I could see the beginnings of tears falling down his cheeks. I came closer, trying to make my footfalls quiet. It didn't work well, because his head shot up in my direction, gleaming yellow eyes open wide, with a trace of fear mixed with the sorrow. I reached him soon enough, his eyes following every move I made carefully. I smiled tentatively as I slowly sat down beside him, making sure to keep my tail flame away from him. He didn't need physical pain added to what he already felt.

"Hi." I said softly, it came close to a whisper. His eyes were downcast to his feet, he looked up shyly every now and then in my direction. He finally looked me in the eye minutes later.

"Hello." He said even more softly than I had. His voice was full of pain and sorrow, so much so that I felt the need to wrap my arms around him and comfort him.

"Are you okay? You looked sad, and I saw what those other pokemon did to you." He stiffened at the mention of the other pokemon, but answered anyway.

"I'm fine… They're just bullies, it didn't hurt. I've never seen any Charmander around here, are you new to the area?" He looked out to the setting sun after he said this.

"Yeah… I used to live near a volcano, actually. My parents recently… died." There was no need to say how recently. His head snapped up in alarm, and his eyes filled with sorrow, pity, and understanding.

"I'm sorry." He whispered, more pain than before saturated his voice. "Are you living with a relative? I didn't know any Charizard lived around here." He said a little louder. I sighed. I was telling a complete stranger about my personal life, but somehow it felt…right.

"No… I'm an orphan. I traveled here because I had nothing else to do. My name is Pixii, by the way."

"My name's Synth." He said, the sadness seeping back into his features after the introduction.

"Synth?" I asked cautiously after a few moments of silence. He looked up shyly again.

"Yes?" He asked softly.

"Why are you so upset?" I inquired curiously. He looked back down. After a few moments of silence he sighed deeply, then looked back up at my face.

"I'm a coward. Ever since my parents died on a rescue mission, I've wanted to join the guild not far from here, to be stronger. I keep telling myself today is the day, but I never go through with it… I'm always too scared to even get through the entrance. Most of the other pokemon around here have seen me freak out when I try to go… and they've labeled me a chicken for it. They bully me, but it's not that horrible. What's really bad is knowing that I should be able to go in, because my parents were brave enough to when they were Treekos. I know I'm disappointing them with my cowardice, and it hurts…" He let out a small sob, and I launched myself forward, capturing him into an unsuspected hug. He stiffened for a moment, but hugged back tightly after. I felt warm saltwater run down my back as I hugged him, signaling that he was silently crying. After a few more minutes of this, he spoke again.

"Do you have anywhere to stay? I mean, you've only been in the area for a short while." He said shakily.

"No… I don't know anyone besides you, and I have no money. Why do you ask?" I asked softly, still hugging him on my knees.

"Do you want to stay with me? I have an extra bed. It's not the nicest place on the planet, but it has a nice view of the beach. It's under a bush on Sharpedo Bluff." He whispered.

"Thank you." I said softly, giving him a squeeze before finally letting go. He stood up, and offered me a hand. I gratefully accepted and he helped me up. I let go of his hand after he helped me, and we walked closely back to the cave I had been in only an hour before. I looked up at the sky, for the first time noticing how dark it had gotten. "It's getting late…" I said under my breath, but Synth heard it.

"I come out at night all the time. This beach is a beautiful place to watch the sky… It was a place I used to visit with my… parents." He said as he gazed up at the sky.

"Oh… Thanks again for letting me stay with you. I'll find someway to pay you back for it someday. I promise." I vowed as I watched his face, illuminated by the fire on my tail. As we passed pokemon still out in the streets of the town, I received curious glances, and Synth received hateful or jeering glares as we walked, my tail flame casting shadows around us, and illuminating our features. When we reached Sharpedo Bluff, he looked around us, and when he was satisfied with the empty area, he lifted the bush and gestured for me to go in first. I entered the corridor, and when he entered and lifted the bush back, my tail lighted the way down. When I was settled on a bed leaned up against a wall, Synth went to a barrel in the corner near the fountain and pulled out two apples. He walked over to me and gave me one. I thanked him and bit into it hungrily. I hadn't noticed how famished I was until that moment. I greedily devoured the apple, not bothering to be polite.

"Hungry?" He smirked.

"You try going through severe emotional trauma and traveling to a new place without anything to eat on the way." I said before throwing out the eaten fruit core. Synth finished his apple soon enough, and after tidying up, he took the strange gemstone out from under his bedding. Since I was closer now, I could get a better look at it. It was a small emerald shaped like a teardrop, hanging from a black string, which meant it was worn as a necklace at some point. "Why don't you wear that?" I asked curiously.

"Because this is something my parents gave me to give me strength when I was little. It's obviously not working very well, considering I live in a cave, and am the person everyone in this town lets their frustrations out on…" He looked down sadly.

"Have you ever worn it?" I asked again.

"No… I don't feel like I'm worthy enough to wear it." He looked down sadly. I didn't know much about him, so I stayed quiet. "We'd better get rest, I need to do some supplies shopping tomorrow, and it'll take all morning." He said after a few minutes. He then put the gemstone under his bedding again and laid down. I followed his lead, and after making sure my tail was away from anything flammable, settled in to sleep,

I was soon out cold, and was having nightmares again. My mother's dead, cold body haunted almost everyone of the horrible dreams. I woke up screaming just before dawn, finding Synth by the fountain washing his face.

"Hi." I said as I walked up to the fountain for a drink.

"What were you dreaming about that made you scream like that?…" He asked softly.

"It's nothing." I said quickly. I could tell he was far from convinced, but he let it go. After eating some breakfast we headed out. Since we were out so early, only a few pokemon were awake, most being storeowners or elderly pokemon. That didn't mean that the pokemon out were nice to Synth, they were far from it. Some of the older fire types would use ember at his feet, making him move quickly to avoid getting burned, others would make fun of him as if he wasn't there.

I don't know why this infuriated me so much, but people were so mean to him. They didn't know what he had to go through day after day, and even if I had only known him for a day, I knew this wasn't the first time they were mean to him. He hadn't done anything wrong!

As we walked, (Well, I walked. Synth dodged small flames,) he kept his face downcast, if an emotionless mask. The pain he felt from being treated like this everyday showed through, though. I personally didn't think there was anything he could do to keep it fully hidden. After we bought the supplies we needed, he suggested we go down to the beach. I happily accepted, and after carefully hiding the entrance to our hideaway, we made our way back through town. After surviving the cruel behavior of the townsfolk, we made it to the beach. We sat down at the edge of the shore, watching and listening to the empty beach around us… Well, it was empty, except for the two new figures flapping their way over to us.

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**A/N:**** There's your first chapter! I hope you enjoyed it. I think Synth is a sweetheart!! Poor dude, I hate it when people treat you like crap because of something that happened to you. I love hugs, don't you? XD I know I'm being totally random at the moment, but my air conditioner broke, so I'm sitting in an 84 degree temperature, when my bedroom is a nice, cool, 60 something. It's making my brain loopy!! XD Please review, it'd be nice to know what you think. (Thanks so much to Tntguy for my first review, even if he **_**is**_** an anonymous dude. I've always named my pokemon teams after astrological stuff and things of that nature. I once called a team Moonlight. :-B)**

**Hope you like this story, because it ish my baby!! XD**

**Pixii out.**


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N:**** Thanks so much to ****Tnt guy**** for his reviews, you don't know how happy they make me! I write quickly when I get them! :O Who woulda thunk it?? Lol. You should get yourself an account Tnt guy! The fanfic world needs someone who reviews whatever they read! XD Enjoy the chapter people of earth! We introduce two of the members from Team Whirlwind here! There'll be more rambling from your's truly at the end of this chappie, but for now, Enjoy The Fic! **

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The shadows loomed over us as we watched the waves ebb and flow a moment longer. We were both aware of the figures moving toward us, we could hear it as their feet crunched on the sand. Buying time before looking at them was the most we could do. When the new pokemon finally made it to where we were sitting contently moments before, they stood on either side of Synth, pushing past me as if I weren't there. The two pokemon were the Pidgey and Taillow from yesterday. I scowled as I remembered the poor way they treated Synth. The Pidgey spoke up now.

"Who's your friend, Chicken?" He said as he circled Synth. The way he moved reminded me of a predator stalking its prey. The Taillow moved to stand by me as the Pidgey continued its 'dance'. Synth moved his legs up and rested his chin on his knees, fear evident in his eyes. It was obvious how much these two had tortured him in the past. My tail flame flared up as I became more and more enraged with the pair of birds.

"None of your business…" He murmured quietly, looking directly at me, with the fear still in his eyes. The Pidgey and Taillow became angry at the vague response, and got into an offensive position. Their beaks lit up as they prepared a Peck attack. As they were about to strike, I launched myself forward, using Scratch on the Taillow.

This left him with three shallow red cuts on his cheek, but he seemed unfazed. He continued to move toward Synth, who was paralyzed with fear. The Pidgey was soon within striking distance, so he began launching attack after attack on Synth. The super effective hits took their toll on him, leaving him barely conscious. I launched myself at the pokemon again, fed up with how cruel this town was. I used scratch repeatedly on both of them, they were too stunned to move.

When they realized what was hitting them, they readied more peck attacks. By now Synth had regain some strength, but not enough to move at all. After suffering through some jabs and pinches from their beaks, I turned around, letting them dive head-first into my rather large tail flame. They howled with pain as they recoiled from flames, sprinting toward the waves in an he pain on their faces. I took this opportunity to go toward Synth, only now feeling the pain their attacks had left behind. He looked really beat up, and his face was frozen in a mask of shock. I kneeled down next to him, waiting for him to get over the shock of the battle we just faced. When he finally did, the pain returned to his features. The type advantage meant he probably felt much worse than I did.

"You okay?" I asked gently as he looked up at me.

"I guess… Are you?" He asked hesitantly.

"I'm fine. Let's get outta here while they're distracted. You can't handle anymore assaults." I said as I moved closer, readying myself for the task of lifting him up. He looked at me questioningly as I took one of his arms carefully, moving it around my shoulders, and holding his hand over it. "I'll help you up, tell me if it hurts at any point." I said softly as I lifted him up. He hissed in pain quietly as I lifted, so I stopped to let him get used to moving around. After about a minute of this we started walking. Halfway up the beach he needed to rest, so we sat down on a nearby rock. He panted for a few moments, before his breathing began to go back to normal.

"Are you sure you can keep going?" I asked worriedly as he started motioning to get up. He winced as he stood, and I hurried over to give him support.

"We need to. There's a small hospital in the square, we can both get checked out and cleaned up." He said hopefully as we began moving again. I nodded to let him know I agreed, and we were in the square about half an hour later. The pokemon still made fun of him, but refrained from attacking him because of his obviously worn out state. At least they weren't heartless…

We made our way down a side road branching out from the square, and soon came to a medium sized dome with the word 'PokeHospital' written above the door in big bold lettering. When we got inside, Synth limped over to a black cushion set up against a wall. I sat next to him on a navy blue one. After setting up a meeting with one of the doctors, I sat back down, and we waited quietly for our turn in an examination room. After what felt like hours, we were called. The Riolu at the reception desk led us down a long white corridor and into a small examination room. There were two cushions in here, so we each took one and waited for the doctor to come in.

Twenty minutes later the doctor arrived, with her nurse in tow. The doctor was a Chansey, her nurse a Happiny. After feeding us an oran berry each, she made us eat Heal Seeds and bandaged us up. I only needed my left arm and the top of my head wrapped, but poor Synth had to get his entire midsection, the tip of his tail, his right arm, and his left leg bandaged. After paying for the healthcare we received, we left and were soon back at our cave in Sharpedo Bluff.

When Synth was laying comfortably on his bed, I started a small fire with my tail and some sticks to keep us warm. The sky was filling with dark clouds, meaning there would be a storm soon. After a few minutes of silence, except for the cracking of the fire, Synth spoke.

"Why did you do it?" He said quietly, staring into my eyes as he said this.

"Do what?" I asked just as softly back.

"Fight with them for attacking me. No one's ever done that for me before… Why would you put yourself on the line for… me?" He questioned, getting gradually louder. My brow creased in confusion.

"Aren't we friends?…" I asked hesitantly.

"I… Yes…" He said back cautiously.

"Then that's why I did it. I wasn't going to watch as my friend got attacked by two bullies." I said certainly. He stayed silent, lost in thought as he looked down in the floor for several moments longer.

"The two pokemon we fought at the beach were a part of one of the leading Exploration Teams in the area. Team Whirlwind is what they call themselves. Their leader is much stronger than them… I would know…" He said cryptically, absentmindedly rubbing his right arm, which was still bandaged. After several minutes of gazing off into space, he spoke again.

"Would you like to join an Exploration Team with me?" He asked suddenly.

"Um…" I didn't know what to say. I mean, sure, he was being very generous, but where would we get the jobs? He said there was a guild around here, so I suppose we could go there… what would our name be?**(A/N: What would the name be? Hmm… XD)** I decided that I didn't have anything else I could do, and that this would be my way of paying him back for everything he was supplying for me. And besides, he would become stronger, and I might learn some of the fire attacks my parents neglected to teach me. I nodded and smiled, letting him know my answer. His face lit up happily at the revelation.

"Thank you." He whispered, his yellow eyes filled with nothing but sincerity.

"You're welcome." I whispered back. We spent the rest of the night in silence, listening as the rain poured and the thunder boom, as the small fire crackled away.

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**A/N:**** There you have it. The heat is getting to me! Any suggestions for what the Taillow and Pidgey should be named? I already have the leader of the group's name, I just need these flunkies' identities. Tell me what you think, and let me know if you liked it… in a review perhaps?**

**Pixii out.**


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N:**** Okay, I officially love ****tnt guy****! XD Thanks so much for the kind reviews you've sent so far. It's really nice to have a fan of my story, and I seriously appreciate it. I'd like more than one reviewer though, because I have over 100 hits on the story already, and if you ask me, I think that one or two people aren't reviewing! XD Am I right? Anyways, thanks again for the reviews ****tnt guy****, it's awesome that someone does review, even if that someone is an anon reviewer. I don't mind! Also thanks to ****BlueUndine16**** for reviewing, check out her PMD story, it's super original and I'm waiting for the next installment myself! Back to the story!! XD I'm still working on names for the flunkies, but this chapter has some important stuff in it. ;D Okay, I'm done talking, enjoy the chapter peoplez of earth! **

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I woke up earlier the next morning than Synth, I guess his injuries needed a lot of sleep to help them heal. I washed my face with the cool water from the fountain, being careful not to get any of the water near my tail. After grabbing a red gummi from one of the barrels, I sat on my bed and watched as Synth slept. I had the strange urge to make him happy. He always seemed so upset… and for some reason, this made me angry at whoever or whatever had made him that way. Strange reaction if you asked me.

I sat at the window-looking hole in the cliff we lived inside of, and watched the waves crash onto the shore for a while. After this got tedious I began trying to work up an Ember attack. I could always feel the heat of the tiny flames coming up my throat, but just as they were about to become visible, the flames would die down. I sulked about my obviously amateur fire techniques for a while, until I heard an audible sigh from behind me. I spun around and found that Synth was just waking up. He groaned as he turned over, probably sore from yesterday's events, and the consequences of such happenings. I walked over to the bed, and stood beside him.

"Hey Sleepyhead." I said cheerily as I walked over to the barrel full of gummis, grabbing a grass gummi quickly. He groaned again and buried his head under some of the straw in the bedding. "Oh come on, it's not like I'm gonna make you get up. We can stay here for the day. Here!" I tossed the grass gummi at him, and it hit his head.

"Hey!" He exclaimed playfully, pulling his face out of the straw.

"Hello to you too." I said cheerily, he scowled at my playfully oblivious manner, but I could see the amusement in his eyes. I picked the gummi up off of the floor where it landed and washed it in the fountain before giving it to Synth to eat. "Here, you'll need to keep your strength up if you want to recover enough to join the guild you mentioned." I gave it to him gently this time, and he gratefully devoured it.

"You're right. The next time they'll allow new members is next Saturday. It being Thursday means we have enough time for me to recover almost fully, by then we should have all the necessary info ready for when we request being added to the guild." He said. If we were going to join a guild, that would mean training, so Synth would need to rest up as much as possible. The only signs left of my injuries were small bruises on my legs and torso, and the bandaging on my arm and head. Mine didn't hurt much, but I tell from the masked discomfort in his face and body language that Synth was trying to avoid me noticing it.

"Are you okay Synth?" I asked suspiciously. I wanted him to be able to tell me when something was wrong.

"Fine, it's just sore is all." He said quickly.

"Do you want me to get some oran berries? I saw a bush full of them near the beach." I said calmly, watching his reaction. He didn't seem too thrilled of my leaving alone, but he was considering it, I could tell.

"Um… If you don't mind, it'd be great. Thanks." He smiled, the pain still in his features. I smiled back, glad that he was letting me help him. I checked for someone that could be watching before quickly exiting the corridor that lead to our small sanctuary, then concealed it again. As I made my way through the square, pokemon of different varieties looked at me strangely. Some of the ones my age were looking at me like I was a piece of meat, elderly pokemon recognizing me as 'The girl hanging around the Chicken', parents thinking of me as a 'wonderful edition to the community', and little kids seeing me as a new distraction from their tedious chores.

I finally made my way away from the stares of pokemon in the town, and found the now familiar fork in the road, instinctively heading south. I found the bush easily, full of the large blue orb-like berries. After plucking around ten from the bush and settling them awkwardly in my arms, making sure not to let them drop, I proceeded to walk back through the town. Some of the younger pokemon offered help, just to get away from their parents, and the male population offering for a chance to talk to me… This was odd, boys hadn't treated me like this before, because we had grown up together I suppose. But that didn't change the fact that the attention was definitely new.

When I got back inside the cave, Synth was asleep, but he was curled into a ball, shaking, and had tears running down his face. He had also broken out into a cold sweat. I debated waking him up, he looked like he was in a lot of pain, but then I would've disrupted his rest. He started rubbing his right arm anxiously, more tears running down his face. I couldn't take watching the pain, so I ran over to him and kneeled beside him, then began stroking his arm.

"Synth, wake up… It's only a dream… Wake up, Synth…" I said softly, now putting my tail near him, trying to warm him up. The gentle glow of the flames seemed to calm him down a bit, so I resumed the stroking motion, trying to make him wake up. "Come on, Synth… wake up…" I said a little louder than before. It seemed to work, because he slowly opened his eyes, the tears subsiding. "Are you okay? What made you do _that_ in your sleep?!" I asked softly. He shrugged, then shyly let his eyes fall to the cold gravel covered ground.

"Bad memories…" He whispered. Then a look of determination came into his eyes. "I'll tell you what had me like that, if you tell me what made you wake up screaming yesterday. You looked sort of haunted by it until we were at the beach." He bargained. I wanted to know what had made him react that way when he was asleep, but I also didn't know if I was ready to tell him about how my parents died. I decided that if we were joining a rescue team together then that meant at least a year or two at the guild, so I would inevitably have to tell him sooner or later. Might as well get it over with.

"Okay. Who first?" I asked nervously. He propped himself up on his undamaged arm to watch me.

"I'll go first…" He looked at me for approval, I nodded, and he drew in a deep breath. "I was dreaming about a memory from about a year ago… Remember the Pidgey and Taillow from the beach?" I nodded. "Their leader is much stronger than they can ever hope to be. He's a Staraptor. He hid in some bushes while I was trying to enter the guild one day… When I couldn't he jumped out and started saying how much my p-parents deserved to d-die… That they were failures if they couldn't teach their son to have enough b-bravery to enter a guild… when I tried to defend them he got angry… You don't make Staraptor angry if you want to make it out of an encounter with him without a scar… He used Sky Attack on me…" He started rubbing his bandaged arm subconsciously, then took in another deep breath. "Since it's a flying type move it hurt more than it would for most pokemon… Anyway, he shattered my entire right arm…" He looked at me again. "I was dreaming about that… Your turn…" He said gravely. I looked down as the memories came flooding back to me, then began speaking…

"My dad was abusive… and my mom didn't have the courage to stand up to him… we both got beat… A few days ago… maybe four or five… a pack of rogue Houndoom came to my house… a-and t-tore my mom and dad apart… I miss m-my m-mom s-so much…" I kept getting quieter as I went on, my voice raising octaves higher and cracking. "When the Houndoom saw me cowering behind a broken table, some of them came after me… I'm lucky to be alive…" I looked down, tears starting to pour from my eyes. I heard the straw shift next to me, but my vision was too blurred to see what happened, and I couldn't seem to focus on anything… I felt a pair of arms wrap around me, and I immediately knew who it was. I hugged back with as much force as I could, trying to make the pain I felt at the loss of my mother at bay. I heard an audible sigh when I began squeezing, so I lessened the pressure a bit. "I-I'm s-sorry… S-s-so s-sorry…" I whispered as I buried my head into his chest and cried.

"For what?…" He asked, his voice pained, and muffled by my sobbing.

"I'm hurting you…" I said simply. He wiped a hear away from my cheek and breathed out shakily.

"It doesn't hurt i-if… if I'm helping my only friend…" He whispered, barely keeping the pain out of his voice. For some reason what he said made me feel fore elated than I should have been by the comment. He was close enough to me that he would suffer pain for me… I smiled into his chest, then released my hold on him completely, letting the tears of joy now coming from my eyes mix with the ones of sorrow already panning into small puddles on the gravel-like floor of the cave.

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**A/N:**** Okay, I know this was a sad chappie, but I personally think this is my favorite! :D I love fluff :') Even if it is sad… Please tell me what ya think!! Thanks again to ****BlueUndine16**** and ****tnt guy ****for reviewing! **

**Pixii out.**


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hello people of earth! How are you all today?! Lol thanks for the reviews from last chapter, ****Tnt guy continues to amaze me with his dedication to reviewing my story! XD _I want_**** to put some action in this chapter, so I might make it longer than usual, just because I love you peoples! XD I'm still accepting names for Taillow. Pudge will be used for the Pidgey, thanks for the suggestion ****BlueUndine16****! Once again, check out her story!! Sorry for springing the author's note on you instead of a chapter, but it had to be done! Enjoy this specially-long chappie peoplez! **

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I don't know how long we sat there hugging each other, but when I got up I was stiff, and the sun was setting. I helped Synth back onto his bed and brought him two of the Oran berries I picked when I was out earlier in the day.

"Here, these'll make you feel better." I said cheerily, handing them to him. He nibbled on them appreciatively, and soon he looked much better than before. "How're you feeling now?"

"A lot better, thanks." He smiled happily at me. Synth really did deserve to fulfill his dreams… Suddenly a thought came to me. If he wanted to become an exploration team we would need to be accepted into the guild, which would mean that Synth would need to be healed by tomorrow. I voiced my concerns to Synth, and he chuckled.

"I'll do whatever it takes to get there tomorrow. Don't worry." He said and smiled. I smiled back, relieved that we would be able to sign up tomorrow. I moved to the large hole in the wall where the moon shined brightly, the sky cleared of any traces of the storm last night. The moon was full tonight, and the stars sparkled brightly in the distance. I admired the sight for a few moments longer before more concerns let themselves be known. How was Synth going to make it up to the guild with his injuries? I know he said that he would do whatever it took, but he would be in so much pain… And what were we to call our team? What about the new sleeping quarters?? These questions swirled in my head for a while longer until Synth suggested I get some sleep for tomorrow. I obediently climbed into bed and fell asleep.

My dream was strange… I was a Charmeleon, wearing a bright green bow around my neck… and Synth was a Grovyle, he was wearing his gemstone! **(A/N: I always liked Grovyle better than my original partner XD But this really is Synth, I'm not doing the plotline of the game, only using references and stealing the scenery. The Guild, for example.)** We were fighting a strange pink cat-like pokemon. It used a powerful Hyper Beam, and the dream broke off.

--

I woke up suddenly, and looked around the room. Synth was still sleeping soundly, peacefully. The sun was just beginning to rise over the horizon. I grabbed a red gummi and ate it quickly, then drank some water from the fountain. I decided that I would wake Synth up in a few minutes if he didn't get up on his own. We would need as much of an early start as we could get. About two minutes later he started to stir, and then groaned as he sat up.

"You okay?" I asked from across the room. He looked over at me and smiled, then nodded. "Good, 'cause we'll need as much of an early start as we can get!" I said excitedly. It was starting to sound fun, being on an Exploration Team. He started to get up, and to my surprise, the only thing that happened was some shaking in his legs. He didn't look pained at all.

"Wow… this doesn't hurt, I just feel weak…" He said, talking more to himself than me. I giggled and took an Oran berry and a grass gummi from the barrels. I walked over to him, and gave the food to him. He happily ate it, and soon his legs weren't even shaking when he walked. He drank some water from the fountain, and we left the cave.

When we got to the more populated areas of town some of the pokemon from yesterday waved to me, and scowled at Synth. I smiled and waved back awkwardly, I didn't like most of these pokemon. Synth just looked down, his ever-famous mask on his face.

"You okay?" I asked quietly, trying not to be overheard.

"Fine. Just uneasy… These pokemon haven't let me be in a long time…" He looked up at me from the corner of his eye, and I smiled.

"We should go to Chansey quickly and get our bandages removed." I suggested. He nodded and we made our way to the small hospital on the edge of town.

After getting our bandages removed, we looked ourselves over. I only had small bruises here and there, and Synth looked completely healed. Grass types probably used photosynthesis or something to get extra energy while they slept… We got to the entrance of the guild, which looked like a medieval castle gateway. There was a circular hole with a grate over it in front of the entrance, and it freaked me out. A large booming voice rang out from what seemed to be the grate, making Synth jump slightly and me scream.

"GEEZ could you two SHUT UP and get on the GRATE?!" The voice yelled. Synth looked at me, and I shook my head furiously. He sighed and stepped on the grate. A high pitched voice started talking now.

"Pokemon detected! Pokemon detected!" It yelled.

"What Pokemon?!" The other, louder, voice replied.

"The Pokemon is Treecko!" The higher voice said. I looked at Synth, and he looked pale as a ghost. He had panicked eyes, and I could see why he would be scared to do this. That booming voice was FREAKIN' SCARY!!

"Step off the GRATE and make your FRIEND stand up THERE!" The booming voice said again. Synth quickly bolted to the side of the grate and I stepped up, awaiting 'judgment'.

"Pokemon detected! Pokemon detected!" Well of course there was a Pokemon up there! Your friend just went psycho on us, getting me to stand up here!!

"WHAT Pokemon?!"

"Um… it's um… Charmander? Yeah! It might be Charmander!" It said uncertainly.

"MIGHT?! Sentry Doug WHY can't you tell WHAT it IS?!" The other voice called.**(A/N: I'm sorry but Doug the Diglette makes me laugh for some reason. XD I know I'm weird, deal with it!)**

"Well EXCUSE ME! We don't see many Charmander around these parts!! Go check yourself! I'm taking my break!" The other voice argued. A giggle escaped my lips, they were quite unprofessional…

"FINE!!" The large door opened, revealing a very irate looking Loudred. "Well LOOKIE here! You ARE a Charmander! Woo-who!!" He waved his large arms in the air, making a circular motion, then motioned for us to follow him. Synth looked even more frightened than before, and I couldn't blame him. This guy was BUFF!! (and scary looking…) We were led to a ladder, and then told to climb down it. We did so obediently and were told to wait in this room for the other pokemon that would request to be new recruits to show up.

The room we were in was very large, and it was rectangular, it had two circular windows on the left wall, along with a stone desk of some sort. There was another ladder next to the one we used, except it was leading down to another area. On the walls next to the ladders were two bulletin boards, each loaded with numerous scraps of paper. I assumed that the twenty-or-so cushions that had been set out were only temporary, here for the possible recruits. There was a long thin table on the right wall, full of different berries and apples.

"Let's sit down…" Synth said uncertainly. The room was empty except for us, so I could understand his unease. I would've thought they would send someone to tell us about the training or _something_. Maybe they came when the cushions were all taken…?

"Okay…" I murmured back, opting for us to sit in the front. We sat near the front, and just… sat there… Every now and then a guild member would come through and wave to us, or some other form of acknowledgement, but nothing else. It must have been a good half hour before some other recruits arrived. A female Growlithe and an Oddish came in, and sat next to us. I smiled at them, trying to be friendly. I hadn't seen them around town before. With the way Synth had described the Guild to me before, pokemon would travel for days to be able to get a chance at joining. I talked with the Growlithe about fire attacks and things of that nature for about ten minutes until three more pokemon joined the small group that had formed. A male Cyndaquil, Squirtle, and female Weedle had joined the group of us now. The seven of us fell into easy conversations with different pokemon. Apparently all of these Pokemon had traveled to get a shot at the Guild.

It was an hour or so until another pokemon joined us. It was a male Pikachu, Mareep, and a female Plusle from this area, meaning they would most likely treat Synth like dirt, or pick on him, and it was inevitable that they would tell everyone we had met here about Synth's past. When Synth caught sight of the Pikachu, what previous joy he had was now fear. He hissed under his breath and tried to act like he didn't know the Pikachu was there. What seemed to be eternities later, but was only about ten minutes, a Ralts and an Abra joined us, smiling happily at the chance to join a Guild.

About ten minutes after they arrived, a Shinx and a Buizel arrived. Sinnoh pokemon weren't common around here from what I'd seen, so I was pretty sure they had traveled to get here too.

Two more hours passed, and by then a Beldum, Geodude, Nossepass, Minun, male Nidoran, Skitty, Totodile, and Pachirasu had arrived. Some of them were from town, but acted as if Synth weren't even there. From what I could tell, Synth was relieved that this was all they did to him. By now the room was full, and the Pokemon were chatting easily, everyone getting acquainted. I found myself becoming close friends to the Growlithe I met, I now knew her name was Brooklyn. About twenty minutes after the room became full, the Loudred's booming voice came again.

"Welcome to the initiation to Wigglytuff's Guild kiddies! We'll be performing excruciating trials on you, so anyone that's COWARDLY leave NOW!" I looked over at Synth, he was obviously frightened out of his wits, but he still had a glint of determination in his yellow eyes. When no one got up to leave, the Loudred sighed and continued. "Our Guild master WIGGLYTUFF will perform the test NOW! ALL HAIL THE GREAT LEADER!!" He yelled. He then motioned for us to stand, and we complied immediately. The Loudred left the room, and in came a large pink blob-like pokemon. It was Wigglytuff.

"Hi ya, all!" He shouted and waved. "We'll now perform the test!!" **(A/N: I would've left it there if I hadn't remembered my promise! :D) **I could hear audible gulps around the room. Surely the test wasn't _that_ bad? He began to speak in an ominous voice. "Spin around on one fooooooooot…" He said. That's it?? Everyone in the room did so, and Wigglytuff signaled to stop after a moment. "That was fun! Okay everyone, we're gonna record your team names, and your own names! M'kay?" He chuckled. "CHARAP!" A Chatot flitted into the room.

"Yes, Guild master?" He asked politely.

"Record all of the names! I'll give out items later, after that we can eat the big feast Chimes prepared!" He said excitedly. The Chatot nodded, and the Guild master left the room.

"Get in an orderly line, people!" The Chatot motioned with one wing, holding a clipboard in the other. We formed the line, and after mostly everyone else went, it was our turn. "Names?" Charap said in a bored tone. Synth spoke for us.

"Synth and Pixii."

"Team name?" Synth and I looked at each other blankly.

"Well?" Chatot asked impatiently.

"Um…"

"Oh c'mon now! We don't have until twilight!" Charap said angrily. Twilight… that was a good name for an exploration team…

"Twilight." I said confidently. Synth looked at me with what I thought was admiration. I smiled at him happily and he smiled back. We were told to go choose a room downstairs, so we went down the second ladder to the next floor. **(A/N: If you haven't played the game I don't know why you're reading this, so just think of the scenery on the second floor from the game, except the Mess Hall is a lot larger, with a way longer table, and instead of only three bedrooms there are like twelve or thirteen.)**

We walked down the large corridor, looking into each unoccupied room. We ended up choosing the one at the end of the hall, it was slightly larger than most of the others, and it had a larger window with a view of the moon, and the ocean. For some reason I immediately felt at home here. I made a bee-line for the bed under the window, and bumped into Synth, as he too, tried to claim that bed as his. We went toppling over, and I ended up on top of Synth. We burst out laughing at our own stupidity.

"Whatever happened to ladies first?" I asked jokingly.

"What about finder's keeper's?" He shot back happily.

"Well if that's how you wanna play…" I trailed off as I launched myself at the bed, reaching it before Synth could react. "Muahaha!" I laughed victoriously. Synth just shook his head slowly and smiled, going to the other bed.

"Thanks for thinking of that name… I think it suits us…" He said quietly. "What do you think the Guild master is giving us?" He asked more loudly.

"Probably a badge or something to prove we're an Exploration Team. There were a few of these groups called Rescue Teams where I used to live, they needed badges… They also got Rescue Kits… Maybe we'll get Exploration Kits, or something of the like." I suggested. He shrugged, getting lost in thought. After a few minutes of being surrounded by our own thoughts, there was a knock on our door.

"Come in!" I called. Brooklyn came in, and smiled at me happily. "What's up?"

"The guild master's ready for you. Don't worry, it won't be that bad!" She said happily, and left the room. I got up and shook Synth's shoulders, because he hadn't seemed to have awoken from his trance.

"Synth! The Guild master needs us. Let's go." He seemed to wake, and nodded. We made our way down the corridor, and I saw that some of the doors had new signs on them, with the Exploration Team name on it. When we made it to the intimidating large double doors with the Guild master's crest on them, we knocked lightly. His carefree voice came muffled through the door.

"Come in friends!" We opened the heavy doors, and walked in.

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**A/N:**** Sorry, I know it's sort of a cliffy, but you would've had an even worse cliffy if I had ended it where I wanted to! XD Thanks again to my beloved reviewers. I'll end up picking out of a hat for the Taillow's name if this keeps up! **

**XD I loved the excruciating challenge, didn't you?? Lol, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please review!**

**Pixii out.**


	6. Chapter 5

**A/N: ****Forget what I said in previous chapters. I hate Tnt guy. (Jk) He guessed where I got my Chatot name!! D: Lol I'm not mad, but here I thought I was being clever! XD The pink cat (which is not a skitty) can actually learn any move from a TM in the games. Btw, it was a dream she had, for all we know it could've been an actual PINK CAT. XD But it's not, so there. I loved Wigglytuff's challenge last chapter. I'll try to keep Wiggly in character, because I honestly loved him in the game. :D Once again, I'm sorry for the A/N instead of a chapter before, but I honestly think this saves me the time of explaining everything, don't you? I'll accept cameos for chapters to come, they can be people Team Twilight rescues an' stuff, or criminals we capture! I'm gonna put a poll up to see which character you guys like best from the fic sooner or later, probably today 'cause I got no social life and stuffs. I'm gonna start sending Blue the chapters in advance if none of you other people review! D: (Sorry Tnt, I'd send it to you too, but there are communication problems and stuff. :'(…) I know you're out there, I'm on like twenty favorites lists and I have over two hundred hits on this. DON'T MAKE ME SEND BOB AFTER YOU!! Lol, this A/N is almost a page long, and I know what you peoplez are thinking… It's along the lines of: "OMG STFU AND GET TO THE CHAPTER ALREADY!!" Am I right? XD I'll stop rambling now, enjoy this uber awesome chappie! **

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We walked into the large room, to find Wigglytuff sitting on a very high throne, with an ornate red and gold crown on his head. His arms were crossed as he looked down at us, a smile fighting its way onto the so called "king's" face. I bowed jokingly, and Wigglytuff laughed.

"Hello friends!" He said happily. We both waved, I was starting to like Wigglytuff, he was like a little kid. "You're Team Twilight, correct?" We nodded. "What a funny name for a Team… Should have been Perfect Apples or Apples of Goodness!!" He rambled on about other apple-based names we should have used, until Charap cleared his throat at the side of Wigglytuff's throne. I hadn't noticed until now, but he was wearing a court jester's outfit, hat and goofy bell-toed shoes included. It took all I had in me not to break out into laughter, I looked at Synth and saw that he was wearing a similar expression.

"Anyways! I wanted to give you this gift in commemoration of joining the Guild! There'll be a festival tomorrow in town, the Guild members are guests of honor!" He exclaimed. Wigglytuff then climbed down the ridiculously large throne and gave us a large green metal box. "Open this in your room, oh! And send in Team Lightning!" He waved us off and we left. **(A/N: This is where reading the list I made as another story comes in handy!)** We trudged back to our room, me pulling the heavy box as Synth pushed. After successfully dragging it to our room and leaning it up against the wall next to Synth's bed, we set out to find Team Lightning.

We scoured the long hall, knocking on door after door that had no sign on it, only to find that Team lightning was none of them. We reached the last door at the end of the hall and knocked, a Mareep answering the door. He looked at me with raised eyebrows, apparently he hadn't seen Synth in back of me.

"Well, hello there. What brings you to my room?" He said suggestively. This guy was perverted.

"Well actually, Wigglytuff needs to see you and your team." I said simply. The goofy grin on his face dropped, and he trudged back into the room to alert his friends. I let out a deep sigh and turned around. Synth was looking angrily at the back of the Mareep's head, his paws in fists. The phrase '_if looks could kill'_ came to mind. I began walking back to our room, only to find that Synth was still glaring murderously at the Mareep. I waved my claw in front of his face, and he seemed to snap out of it. We began walking back to our room again.

"What was that?" I asked jokingly. He seemed to stiffen slightly, but other than that there was no other sign that he had heard me.

"Nothing." He said nonchalantly. I let it drop, I was probably reading way too much into things. When we were in our room and the door was closed we opened the large box. It had a Badge, a green ribbon, a treasure bag, two hundred dollars, **(A/N: I would call it Poke, but it wouldn't exactly be easy to distinguish between the money and the verb. XD)**and a dry erase board with markers, so we could put up a sign like most of the other groups here.

"I told you he would probably give us a kit!" I said proudly as I wrote our team name in neon colors, and our names in the corners of the board.

"Yeah, yeah…" He chuckled, waving me off dismissively.

me off dismissively. I put the sign on the outside of the door and when I came back in, Synth was looking at his gemstone, toying with it in his hands.

"Are you gonna start wearing it now?" I asked softly. His face looked indecisive after I said this, as he stared down at his emerald.

"When we go on our first mission I will." He said quietly. I nodded, and we started doing other things around the room. About an hour later I looked at the window, the sun was setting. It had gotten so late so quickly… Where had the day gone? There was suddenly a knock on the door, and Synth opened it for the visitor. It was a Sunflora with a big grin on her face.

"Hello!" She said happily in a high pitched voice.

"Hi." Synth and I said in unison. The Sunflora got a glint in her eye, but it vanished before I could decipher it.

"Ooooh! Chimes made a wonderful feast for all you new recruits! It's ready and I'm summoning you guys! You better go before all the good spots are taken!" She giggled, and left the room. I was suddenly hyperaware of how hungry I was, the excitement and adrenalin rushing through my veins must have made me overlook it. Synth and I looked at each other for a millisecond, then made a mad dash for the door. Synth got through first, and I shut it behind us, still sprinting as fast as I could.

When we got into the mess hall the sight that awaited us was amazing! The vast table was set with a pure white linen tablecloth, and had a set of candles every few feet down. The table was set with around thirty or thirty-five bowls and plates. It had bowls full of apples, an assortment of berries, and a sort of stew. It all smelled delicious, I would need to thank whoever this Chimes person was. The room was relatively empty, only a few pokemon had made it to the mess hall. Synth grabbed my hand and walked toward the right side of the table. I followed, because I couldn't find anywhere that I would've liked to sit. We sat down near the end of the table, but there were still three or four more places set before our spots. We waited for other pokemon to come, and when I spotted Brooklyn and her partner I waved them over. Brooklyn sat next to me, and her Oddish friend on her other side.

"Hey Pixii. The food looks great!" Brooklyn said enthusiastically.

"Yeah, it does… Where did you live before you came down for the guild?" I asked her.

"Olive and I lived in Kanto. I used to have a trainer, but I wasn't happy. She let me go after a while. My trainer was nice, but it wasn't my kind of thing." She explained happily. "What about you?"

"I lived in Hoenn for a while, but… some big changes happened recently, so I left. Synth let me stay with him for a while, and now we're an Exploration Team!" I explained. It wasn't lying if I was being vague, right?

"That's nice." She said sincerely. "I can't wait for everyone to get here, I wanna dig in!" She said, licking her lips. I nodded in agreement, and Olive did the same. Synth hadn't spoken at all the entire time, so I looked over at him quickly. He had his eyes glued to a large Pecha berry. I giggled.

"Synth, the berry's not gonna run away if you stop looking at it." I giggled. He snapped his eyes away from the precious berry and chuckled. The Mess Hall began fill some more, many of the new recruits taking spots at the end of the table. A Ralts and an Abra came over and sat across from our little group. The Ralts looked shy, and the Abra looked like it was hypnotized by the food. I waved, and the Ralts' face lit up. She waved back, and her Kanto counterpart looked up from his trance and smiled gratefully at me.

"Hi, I'm Pixii. This is my partner, Synth! We're Team Twilight!" The Ralts smiled happily at me.

"Hello! We're Team Magic. I'm Lily and this is Chris!" She said warmly. "Who are you?" She asked Brooklyn.

"I'm Brooklyn, and this is Olive. We're team Flame Petal. We traveled a long way to get here." She explained. The Ralts and Abra nodded happily. The room was soon full, and the Guild master came in with Charap by his side. After he sat down we hear a glass tapping. When everyone was quiet, the Guild master stood up.

"Welcome to our feast everyone! Doesn't it all look absolutely yummy?! Chimes made it especially for the new guild recruits! Let's hear a round of applause for her wonderful work!" He shouted. The room erupted in applause and cheering. A Chimecho floated up and blushed, then sat back down. When the clapping and yelling stopped, Wigglytuff spoke again. "To the new Guild Recruits!" He toasted. We applauded, whistled, and yelled out cheers, then attacked the wonderful assortment of food.

The Guild master only ate some large red apples, while the rest of us feasted upon the many berries, stews, and fruits set out. Synth got his berry, but only by snatching it up quickly, the Pikachu from earlier almost getting it. After dinner everyone went to bed happily full, and had high expectations of tomorrow… including me.

Synth and I entered our room wordlessly after parting ways with Teams Magic and Flame Petal, and after turning out the lamp in the room, my tail was the only light in the room. I fell asleep quickly, my head swirling with the events of the day…

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**A/N:**** There you have it! Here's chapter 5! It was fun to write, and the king thing at the beginning totally seems like the kind of thing that Wiggly would do! XD Thanks so much for the reviews, and I got a new avvie! :D It's got my favorite Exploration Team in the whole wide world on it! XD Synth will give cookies to whoever guesses it! XD Please review!**

**Pixii out.**


	7. Chapter 6

**A/N:Thanks for the reviews I've gotten so far! It really nice to know that people have read my fic! XD Even if there are 200+ hits on the story, and I'm on many, ****many favorites lists. I love how eccentric Wiggly is, don't you?? Tnt guy, Teh auditor, and BlueUndine16, thanks so much for reviewing, I love you guys XD . Oh BTW, Chris is like 9, Lily is 8, and every other new recruit is from age 14-19. Most of the dudes that hit on Pixii are from 16-18 though. She's a looker, that Pixii. XD The Grand Master Of All Things Bad might be up in the waaaaay future! Only Blue is gonna know what I meant with that comment. XD!! inudemon02**** has asked for me to let him send an Exploration Team of his to be featured in the story at some time or another. I might make them be a team that Pixii and Synth meet in a dungeon during a mission, or a group of outlaws that they face, depending on what he gives me to work with. I'll accept teams and use them in this way from anyone, just PM me or ask in a review and fulfill the requirements for it. I'll put the guidelines for submitting a team as a camo at the bottom of the chapter, when I ramble down there. :D ****This chapter I'll do the festival, and I might put in some Team Whirlwind drama. :D I'm evil like that. Enjoy the chappie Peoplez of Earth :D (Even those of you that don't review ) XD**

**--**

I was awakened by the booming voice of the Loudred, telling all of us to get up. I looked out the window above my bed, and the sun was rising. I would've woken up on my own in a minute or so anyway. I glanced at Synth's bed, and he had a very annoyed look on his face. I really couldn't blame him, this was a very rude awakening, but we would've been up soon enough… Moments later Lily burst into our room, with Chris in tow.

"Oh my gosh can you believe the festival is today Pixii?!" She yelled out happily, skipping her way to my bed and sitting on the edge.

"I completely forgot, actually. Do you want to get ready with me?" I asked. She nodded eagerly, and Chris just watched from the doorway, smirking. By now Synth had gotten over his bad mood, so he was just sitting on his bed, staring off into space. "Synth?" I asked him, snapping him away from whatever he was doing.

"Yeah?" He responded.

"Will you take Chris and go get ready somewhere else? I'm gonna hang with Lily for a while." I said. He nodded, but looked reluctant. He then took Chris' hand and left the room. "Okay, do you have any ribbons?" I asked Lily. She nodded and skipped out of the room to get them. She came back moments later, smiling brightly and holding an assortment of ribbons. "How pretty." I said happily. She laid them out carefully on the bed, and gestured to them with her arm.

"Which one do you think is prettiest?" She asked expectantly. I picked out a satin navy blue one for her to wear, and she agreed whole-heartedly. I put it around her tiny waist, making an intricate bow design in the back. We then picked a ribbon for me to wear, and decided on a bright green one. I put it around my neck, tying it in the back and letting the ribbon fall loosely down my back.

When we were finished getting ready we went out into the main room for the morning assembly. Mostly everyone else was present, and it was a myriad of colorful ribbons being worn by the girls. None of the boys decided that a festival being held in their honor was an occasion to put some effort into, oh well. The perverted Mareep from yesterday **(This is put in specially for Blue XD)** was looking um… appreciatively at the females in the room. Next to him stood his teammates. The Pikachu that decided it was his personal mission in life to make Synth's a living Hell, and a shy Plusle with an obvious crush on a Minun in another group. Lily skipped over to Chris, and decided to model her ribbon for him, giggling excitedly. Synth walked over to me with obvious excitement in his eyes.

"The excitement of a festival being thrown for everyone in the Guild finally getting to you?" I asked playfully. He nodded happily.

"Can't wait." He said simply. Wigglytuff suddenly entered the room, following him was Charap, still wearing the ridiculous Jester hat.

"Good morning friends!" Wigglytuff yelled happily. The room cheered, filled with enthusiasm. Wigglytuff laughed happily and continued. "The festival will begin shortly! Everything is set up, they're just waiting for us to get there!" He announced. We all cheered, and Wigglytuff shushed us. "Let's all form a line and march out to the festival!" He ordered excitedly. We followed the directions obediently, and were led to the town square.

A crowd of towns pokemon gathered and cheered for us as we looked around the square. A stage had been set up in the middle, and there were small booths selling different festival foods and toys all around the edges of the square. There were colorful balloons and streamers anywhere they could possibly go, making the area even more festive.

Throughout the festival, many Pokemon came up and congratulated me, but acted as if Synth wasn't even there. I could feel as the heat rose in my throat, and after maybe twenty pokemon said how much I deserved to be in the Guild I completely lost it. I launched a newly acquired Ember attack into the air, the tiny flames exploding in the sky. I was too worked up to acknowledge that I had achieved a fire attack. Heads snapped in my direction, wondering what I did the move for. I took in a deep breath and began yelling, Synth standing motionless behind me.

"What is wrong with you people?! Why do you treat Synth so horribly?! He never did anything to any of you! So what if he hesitated before making a potentially life changing decision? Don't we all?! It's not his fault he got scared! Heck, he had no one because all you bastards decided to shun him for being scared! What the fuck is wrong with you people?! He didn't do anything wrong! The pokemon at the Guild accept him, and I thank Arceus that they do, because She knows that there is no one in this hell hole that ever treats him with respect." I yelled out murderously, grabbing Synth's hand and storming away from the festival angrily. I only stopped when we got back to our room, and when we were there I broke down sobbing. Synth held me to his chest, letting me cry my frustrations out for the rest of the day. Many pokemon knocked on the door, but Synth told them all to leave. We didn't come out for dinner that night, and I don't think I even heard Charap as he asked if things were all right. I went to bed early, because I wanted to escape the pain that everyone had caused Synth, which for some reason was my pain too, I wanted to escape the fact that I had blown up on the pokemon in town and the reactions that would surely ensue tomorrow, I wanted to escape the shallow ache in my throat from using a fire attack for the first time. I think I even wanted to escape reality itself. **(A/N: Aww, poor Pixii. Synth never was one for attention, so I guess he got scared out of his wits when Pixii decided to make a scene! XD)**

**--**

I woke up earlier the next morning than everyone else in the guild, the Loudred wasn't even up yet. I took the special green ribbon that Wigglytuff had given us, three apples, found Synth's emerald, and the money, and put them all into our treasure bag. I knew we would be doing our first missions today, so I put the treasure bag on, and waited for the sun to rise.

I didn't bother looking out the window as I waited, so I was startled when the Loudred began banging on doors and yelling for all of us to wake up about twenty minutes later. Synth jumped about two feet in the air and landed on the floor with a muffled "Ow." I helped him up and we went to assembly. Many of the recruits were still in their rooms, but the ones that were out had their treasure bags in tow. About ten minutes later everyone was present, so Charap announced Wigglytuff's entrance, and he came bursting into the room.

"Hello fellow Guild members! Today we'll be setting you up to go on your first rescue missions, new recruits! I'll assign each team a mentor that will help you pick your first missions! Okay? Get in a line new recruits, and experienced members in another!" He clapped his paws together and we were soon in lines. When it came to be our turn we got Charap.

"Okay Team Twilight, follow me." He said as he lead us up the ladder to the other floor. He then proceeded to walk towards one of the bulletin boards. "This is the Job Notice Board. Pokemon that need rescuing, to be escorted, or help finding a lost item post reports here. Why don't you two pick a job, then I'll approve." He said in a bored tone. Synth and I approached the board, and picked a job at random. It was written on a slightly torn scrap of paper, and it was in a messy scrawl.

_Help me!!_

_When my daughter's toy rolled into the Beach Cave she went in to get it and the tunnel she searched for it in collapsed! I'm having this call for help go out as soon as possible. Please help her Exploration Teams! I'll give a hefty reward when I have my Aqua back in my arms safely!_

_- Leah Lopunny_

I read over the letter again, and then looked at the date it was put up, and realized that this poor little girl had been stuck in Beach Cave for at least a day. I grabbed Synth's hand and ran out of the Guild without so much as a parting glance at Charap.

I ran to the town, deposited our starting money in the bank, and ran back to the fork in the road, going south. One we were at the beach I halted my steps, because in front of us was a very large bird, a Staraptor. Flanking his sides were the Pidgey and Taillow that we had encountered only days before. When I tried to get around them they just moved to stand in front of me.

"What do you want?!" I growled. The largest bird chuckled deeply.

"Temper, temper, my dear. That was quite a speech yesterday, though this runt with you doesn't deserve any of the things you do for him." He drawled in a bored tone. **(Just think of Scar from Lion King. I love that movie! :D)** He then moved so that he was closer to me.

"I asked you a question. It's impolite not to answer." I answered lowly, and menacingly.

"Well I don't believe I will answer." He challenged.

"Then you being here is rather unnecessary, isn't it?" I continued.

"Well… hmm… it would be, if I didn't have a reason." He stepped even closer. I was tempted to burn his face, but I knew his was much stronger than me. And besides, if I got hurt, there was no way we could rescue the girl stuck in Beach Cave.

"The reason will have to wait, I'm afraid. We're busy, and frankly, anything you have to say is useless information to me." I growled into his face. I knew I was pushing my luck, because the fact that he hadn't lashed out at me yet was a praise from Arceus herself. He looked slightly surprised at my apparent abundance of courage, but showed no other sign of acknowledgement. **(A/N: Lol Pixii sounds like a nerd here. XD)** I huffed and tried to walk around him again, to no avail… _Stupid bird…_

"WOULD YOU MOVE ALREADY?! A LIFE COULD DEPEND ON US BEING ABLE TO GET TO WHERE WE NEED TO GO!!" I yelled out, flailing my arms. The Staraptor looked intrigued by the new piece of information.

"…A life you say?… Well then, _why_ are you going to save a life?" I could tell he was toying with me, but I was too mad to care.

"WE'RE AN EXPLORATION TEAM YOU IDIOT!! IT'S PART OF OUR JOB!!" I exclaimed. He smirked at my obvious rage.

"Hmm… Well that's a highly unlikely story… Considering how weak and unworthy that this Treecko is…" He gave a pointed glance to Synth, standing behind me wide-eyed. **(Poor Synth DX) **His last comment sent me over the edge. I felt the now familiar fire burning up my throat, then I opened my mouth and burned the heck out of him. He yelped in surprise and pain as the tiny flames licked at the gray, white, and red feathers on his face, then flapped his large wings viciously, rising up into the sky, his flunkies following his lead. I took this opportunity to grab Synth's hand and made a mad dash for the cave entrance. We made it just before the birds started swooping down. Because we were sure that they would catch up to us at any moment, we were still running as we made our way through the cave. We searched different corridors for a while with no sign of any savage pokemon. Our luck was short lived. We came across a Shellder and a Shellos **(A/N: Anyone else ever notice how much those two names sound alike? XD)** in a small room about ten minutes after entering the cave.

"Do you think they followed us?" I panted as we slowed down, being careful not to wake the pair.

"Maybe, maybe not. I know that his two flunkies would have tries to make him, but he would've reacted by lashing out at them." He explained quietly. I growled in frustration, causing the savage pokemon to wake up. "Uh-oh." Synth said under his breath.

"They're water types. My fire won't do much to them, do we bother fighting them?" I asked. He nodded, and we awaited their approach. I remembered the items I had brought with us and took them out of our treasure bag. "Synth, put your Emerald on. You promised, so don't try to weasel out of it." I said as I quickly tied the strange green ribbon around my neck, making a bow in the back. I could feel a new sort of power coursing through me, and it was invigorating. I glanced over at Synth to see if he had put the jewel on yet. I sighed and snatched it from him as he glanced at it doubtfully in his hand. I put it over his head and stood in a defensive position as the Shellos launched a tackle attack at me. The small body slammed into me, but wouldn't leave a bruise. I retaliated with Scratch, and glanced at Synth in the corner of my eye to see him using Absorb, quickly taking out his opponent. I turned back to my own battle, to find that the Shellos was staring hatefully at me, then launching itself toward me into another Tackle. Thinking quickly, I used Scratch as it came toward me, and it fainted, disappearing into a puff of smoke.

We continued walking around the cave, until we found a flight of stairs leading to the next floor. After we searched the room quickly, we turned right into a long stone hallway. The area was damp, and the only light now was coming from my tail. It was coming in very useful today. After searching several more rooms, and finding two Reviver Seeds, we came across another flight of stairs. I was starting to get hungry, so I pulled out one of the apples I had packed and split in two, sharing it with Synth. We ate in silence, and soon came across a sleeping Lileep. We tip-toed quietly by, but the pokemon was apparently a light sleeper, and charged at Synth. I ran in front and used Ember on the plant-like savage, causing it to faint. I could feel as I got stronger with every battle we faced, with was quite a few before we came to another flight of stairs. After coming down, we came face-to-face with a collapsed tunnel. Excited, I started shouting.

"Aqua, are you here?! Can you hear us? We're an Exploration Team, we're here to save you!" I yelled out. I could here faint crying from behind the boulders blocking our way. "Synth, do you hear? She's crying! We have to get her out." I said quieter than before. Synth nodded, determination in his eyes. "Aqua, we need you to get away from the boulders, we're going to get you out, okay?" I heard a tiny cry from behind the rocks, then footsteps getting farther and farther away. After the footsteps were barely hearable I unleashed Ember attacks rapidly, creating explosions on the rocks. Synth threw a lot of Blast Seeds that we had collected when we were searching. (They were very common in here.) After about ten minutes of relentless attacks, the rocks were all out of the way. We entered the tunnel to find a very young, very frightened Buneary. She bounded out to us and hugged me tightly.

"Thank you so much!" She cried. I rubbed her back comfortingly, and Synth help up the Exploration Badge, pressing the tiny button in the middle. In a flash of light we were back in front of the bulletin board at the Guild. I gave the tiny girl an apple that she ate happily, and stayed with her as Synth went to find Charap.

About twenty minutes later a very frantic Lopunny was running into the Guild, tears running down her face. The Buneary tossed aside her apple and ran to her mother, embracing her tightly.

"Mommy!" She yelled happily. I didn't want any reward money, seeing them so happy was enough for me. Synth and I watched as they got reacquainted. About ten minutes later the pokemon walked over to us, Aqua being carried by her mother.

"Thank you so much." The Lopunny said sincerely.

"You're welcome." We said in unison. The Lopunny took a heavy-looking bag out of a pack hung loosely around her waist. Smiling, she handed the bag over to us. My suspicions were confirmed when I held the bag in my hands, barely keeping it up.

"This is the reward. It's five thousand dollars. I would've paid so much more to get my darling back." She said, nuzzling the sleeping toddler in her arms. "Good bye." She said, climbing the ladder to get to the surface.

"Wow. This is a lot of money…" I said, astonished. Synth nodded in agreement, his eyes wide. Charap came up the ladder then.

"How much did you get?" He said, smiling.

"Five thousand dollars…" I muttered, still staring at the obscene amount of money in my hand. It was snatched away then by Charap. We were handed back five-hundred. "We only get this much?!"

"Of course! How do you think we keep the Guild so well stocked with food?" He said cheerfully. He then walked back down the ladder, not even waiting for me to answer. I looked out the window to clear my head, and noticed that the sun was setting.

"We were out all day…" Synth muttered absent-mindedly.

"Yeah…" I was just glad to be here alive. I wasn't looking forward to tomorrow, Team Whirlwind was obviously upset with the fact that I burned their leader's face… We were summoned for dinner moments later, and after an hour of filling up our empty stomachs and talking about what everyone in the Guild did today we were excused to our rooms. I fell asleep thinking about how this was probably going to become a routine…

**--**

**A/N:**** There you have it! Whew, that was a loooooooong chapter! XD I love how Pixii acts on impulse, don't you? :D She gets defensive of Synth very easily, don't she? XD That's something to think about. Okay, I promised the requirements, so here they are:**

**For a band of thieves:**

**-Up to three pokemon**

**-Give me everyone's name, approximate age, and a Team Name for their group.**

**-Give me a personality**

**- obviously a type of pokemon for each.**

**-None of the pokemon can be a type already mentioned in the fic. (Just look at the list, and don't use Staraptor, Pidgey, or Taillow)**

**For a pokemon that Team Twilight saves:**

**-Only one pokemon**

**-Give me a name for said pokemon**

**-a species that hasn't been mentioned in the fic**

**-approximate age**

**-Reason for being in whatever situation they're in.**

**-Reward for rescue**

**-Tell me a brief personality, so I know how they react!**

**Thanks so much for reading peoples!**

**Pixii out.**


	8. Chapter 7

**A/N:**** You guys are awesome! :D Thanks so much for the reviews last chapter! I love my reviewers! Oh my God, I don't check my Email for one day and I've got like 10 new reviews :D I love you people! XD Thanks for submitting some teams, I'll be using Tnt guy's as a celebrity team, MUAHAHAHAHA! Can you use a different team name just this once though? It'll be confusing if there are two Team Twilights. This'll be my way of thanking you for being such a dedicated reviewer, besides this: THANKS!! XD Oh yeah, Dominik, I'll be using your band of thieves sometime in the future. It might be one or two chapters until I do though. Tnt guy, your awesomely awesome team shall be used in…… The distant future! Sawwy, but now I got big, BIG plans for them… Evil laugh This chapter I'm trying to hold back on the sad, because I got quite a few PM's saying that I was being too hard on Pixii and Synth. It's fun to torture my characters! Lol Anyways, Don't be afraid to send in a team to be a band of thieves or a pokemon we rescue, just fulfill the guidelines and PM them to me! :D BTW, thanks for the Taillow name Dominik, I'll use it! On with the show!! :D**

--

I awoke to the barbaric yelling of the Loudred, saying that we were to be out in five minutes. I got up, blinking all of the sleepiness from my eyes, and went to wake Synth up.

"Get up, we need to be out there in five." I said simply, getting the Treasure bag and stuffing three apples, my green bow, Synth's emerald, the left over Reviver Seed from yesterday, and some different types of berries into it. When Synth was finished waking up we went outside to wait for the rest of the Guild. We were one of the first teams out. It took a few more minutes for the entire population of the Guild to wake up. Once everyone was present Charap and Wigglytuff came into the assembly room.

"Good morning friends!" He exclaimed happily. We cheered. Well, most of us did, I just clapped. "I've heard wonderful reports about what our new recruits have accomplished!" He yelled out. More cheering followed. "I've decided that today you all will go out and train at the Marowak Dojo!" There wasn't any cheering at this. "Oh come on guys! You'll get stronger! It'll be fun! It's an order." He said the last part flatly, threateningly. We all cheered much louder than before to appease him. He smiled smugly, and left the room. We all dispersed, some setting their treasure bags back in their rooms, others complaining about having to train.

After setting our bag back in our room and putting our gear on,**(Synth's emerald, Pixii's ribbon)** we made our way to town. The pokemon didn't act like I expected them to. They started greeting Synth, and they waved to me. It was like we were new in town, and they wanted to make a good first impression. Hmm. Didn't know I was that influential… We went down a side road leading away from the square until we found the large rock building known as Marowak Dojo. We entered the main room, and were greeted by the large ground-type that owned the Dojo.

"Hello!" He said cheerily.

"Hi. Can we go into one of the training areas?" I asked. He nodded.

"Of course! Do you have a type preference?" He asked while leading us down a corridor with about ten rooms in total. Synth and I exchanged a look.

"How about water?" I asked. Synth nodded and the Marowak stopped at a room and led us inside.

"The pokemon you will face will be here shortly." He said pleasantly while leaving the room. I fixed my ribbon because it was starting to feel kind of loose as we waited. About five minutes later a Poliwag, Squirtle, and Lotad entered the room and got into an offensive position. I started getting ready for an Ember attack as the Lotad moved closer. When it was in striking distance I unleashed the tiny flames. They didn't do much damage, but left a large burn.

I failed to notice the Water Gun attack coming near me as I dodged a tackle from the Lotad. When the cold water made contact with my skin it felt like I was being burned, except much worse. I screamed in pain and watched as Synth used Absorb to knock the Squirtle out. The Lotad began to tackle me, but I unleashed a weak Ember attack, knocking it back in mid-air. I got to my feet, trying to ignore the pain coming from my side.

Using Scratch repeatedly, I managed to knock the Lotad out. I glanced to my side, and saw that Synth was laying on the floor, barely keeping the Poliwag at bay. I launched myself forward and used Scratch on the Poliwag. The attack was unexpected, so it hit the Poliwag directly. It tumbled back and landed on its feet, unleashing a powerful Water Gun. It was coming right for me, and I had no way of dodging it. I flinched, anticipating the pain I would feel momentarily. When it never came I opened my eyes. Synth was standing in front of me, soaking wet. He looked back at me and smiled, then sprinted forward and used Absorb, knocking the Poliwag out.

"Thanks." I said gratefully as I came to his side.

"For?" He asked as if it was no big deal.

"Taking the attack for me!" I blurted out. He looked at me in amusement.

"You're my teammate. It wouldn't have affected me as strongly as it did you. Besides, I'm pretty sure I owe you for everything you've done for me since you came to Treasure Town." He said, sincerity sparkling in his eyes. Marowak came back in shortly after, and seeing the pokemon laying on the floor, smiled.

"Nice job! Would you like to heal up a bit and go again?" He asked politely. I looked at Synth, and he nodded.

"Yes please." I said. Marowak nodded and handed us each an Oran berry and a Heal Seed. We ate them quickly, and were lead to a different room. On the way we passed Team Magic, battling some fighting-types and winning, and Team Thunderstorm battling some Grass types, their fight was pretty evenly matched.

"What type would you like to fight next?" He asked happily.

"Um… how about some Poison types?" I asked uncertainly. He nodded eagerly and left to get them. I retied my ribbon, and watched as Synth stared at his emerald, playing with the string that kept it around his neck. The Poison types came in shortly after. An Ekans, Nidoran, and Skorupi took fighting positions, and the battle began.

The Ekans used a strong Poison Sting, I was barely able to dodge the Poisonous barbs before they hit me. Synth used Pound on the Nidoran and it fell backwards, knocking into the Skorupi. After untangling it's limbs, the Skorupi ran towards me, getting ready to attack. Once it was within striking distance, I used a powerful Ember, knocking it out on the spot. I looked to Synth, and he was using Pound repeatedly on the Ekans. The Nidoran was getting ready to strike, Synth was too caught up in his current attacking to notice it. I charged towards it, and it used Poison Sting on me. I yelped in pain as the barbs pierced my skin, but was quick to recover with Scratch. The Pokemon narrowed its eyes as the red welts became visible on its face. It charged forward, ready to use Bite on me, by I quickly dodged, and it ended up on top of the Ekans. Synth used one last Pound, and the Pokemon were knocked out. I suddenly felt stronger somehow, but thought nothing of it. I looked at Synth, and he was smiling broadly. The Marowak came in about five minutes later.

"Wonderful job!" He offered us each an Oran berry and Heal Seeds, like before. After eating them, he lead us to another room. "Type?" He asked pleasantly. Synth and I looked at each other.

"Bug?" Synth asked. The Pokemon nodded and left the room. Another few minutes of waiting was interrupted by a Caterpie, Weedle, and Wurmple entering the room. I started getting ready for an Ember attack, but instead of the warmth I usually felt, it was like there was fog in my throat. I coughed almost violently, trying to get whatever it was out of my body. When I opened my eyes I was shrouded in black smoke. I could barely see through it, but I caught the form of one of the bugs, trying to find its way through the deep cover I had laid. I launched an Ember attack, hitting it directly and knocking it out. I peered to my left and saw Synth using Leer, probably trying to see through the deep fog-like air. The Weedle was inching its way towards him, only a foot or two away from being able to launch an effective attack.

"Synth!" I yelled out. His head snapped in my direction, and he looked curiously at me. "The Weedle is to your left!" As I said this he looked quickly to his left. After spotting the Weedle, he ran forward, knocking the small bug out. I felt a string-like substance wrap around me, and fell to the floor. I looked to where the attack had come from, and the Caterpie was charging towards me. I yelled, and Synth came to my rescue, making the Pokemon faint with Pound. He cut the string off of me, and by now most of me the smoke was gone.

"I didn't know you knew Smokescreen." He commented as he pulled me up.

"I didn't either." I admitted. The Marowak came in shortly after this, waving away the remaining smoke.

"The Dojo is closing for the day. Please come back tomorrow if you wish to resume training." He said pleasantly, handing us each one last Oran berry. We nibbled on them as we made our way back to the Guild. We were each covered in small cuts and maybe a bruise here and there, but nothing serious.

After eating dinner that night, I fell asleep with the images of my day floating through my head.

--

**A/N:**** Sorry for the update taking so long, my Grandma had an operation for her cancer, and we were at the Hospital while it was preformed. After about 20 hours at the hospital, you can imagine how glad I am to be home. We're not sure if she'll be alright, so if you guys could pray for her tonight, I'd appreciate it! Synth and Pixii are now around level 12, yay for leveling! :D Please review, and let me know what you think! :D**

**Pixii out! 3**


	9. Chapter 8

**A/N:**** Hey peoplez! Thanks for all the kind reviews last chapter, the fighting scenes were fun to write! :D Also thanks for more submissions for the story! Your characters are really original. Can someone send in a Pokemon that wants to be rescued? Lol I love all the Teams, believe me, I do, but it'll get boring if I just bring in criminals an' stuff. I wanna alternate! XD Anyway Pixii ish an influential member of the community! XD Thanks so much to everyone that said for my Grandma to get better, and to BlueUndine16 for praying for her. She's stable, but we're not sure if the operation was a success or not. Anyways, it's awesome that some of you have put me on your Favorite Authors Lists, that's the greatest honor I can think of! Team Dark appears this chapter! :D I changed the reason they're wanted just a bit, because it ties into the plot a teensy weensy bit, it's not too bad, but I hope you don't mind! Anyways, this chapter kinda wrote itself, and it veered way off the plan I had for the story, but meh. I have a new plan and I like this one a lot better. :D Okay peoplez of Earth, Enjoy the chapter! :D**

**--**

I woke up later than usual the next morning, and there were small aches all over my body. I had to be manually woken up by Synth, he said that I was one of the heaviest sleepers he had ever seen, and that it was a good thing that I usually got up early. I took our already packed Treasure Bag, and we went out for assembly. Moments later, Wigglytuff entered the room, Charap following inches behind.

"Good morning Guild members!" We cheered, voicing greetings for our Guild Master. He smiled broadly and continued. " I expect you all enjoyed training at the Dojo?" There wasn't much cheering at the mention of working hard to get stronger at the rock facility, but I noticed that Synth was one of the few that cheered for it. Wigglytuff's smile faltered a bit when less of us cheered, but he was still smiling nonetheless. "Today we'll accept job offers off of the Bulletin Boards! Fun, fun, fun!" He smiled and left the room abruptly. We all dispersed, most going to the first underground floor to get job offers, and some going to their rooms.

After climbing the ladder we went to the Bulletin Board on the other side of the room, and picked out a page with three Pokemon at the top. **(A/N: Yay! Team Dark makes an appearance! :D)** A mean looking Raichu, Eevee, and Vulpix were depicted before a small summary was written.

_Please Take Them Down!_

_This band of thieves stole all of the items from our shop the other day, we thought nothing of it, until we realized that a precious TM was stolen. They took our Flamethrower, it's rare to find in a dungeon, and even rarer to acquire off the market. We would've made a hefty profit from it if they hadn't so ruthlessly stolen it! They made a quick escape into a nearby Dungeon. We believe it was the Drenched Bluff. They should be at the last floor by now. We'll offer a large reward for their capture!_

_-The Kecleon Brothers_

Synth had been reading over my shoulder, so when I turned to him for his opinion on this job offer he nodded, a look of determination on his face. I passed him his emerald and took out my ribbon, making a bow around my neck. After this I stuffed the Wanted Notice into the Treasure Bag, and we left the Guild, making our way towards the Drenched Bluff. I guess it was lucky for me that Synth knew the area so well.

We got to the entrance, a narrow damp opening between two large stone walls. After squeezing through, we fought off some other Pokemon, barely making it through some attacks, while others didn't even leave a mark. We made it through the first and second floors, finding one Reviver Seed, three Oran berries, two Blast Seeds, a Sleep Seed, and one apple. The third floor was slightly more challenging than the previous two, because the Pokemon were tougher.

We narrowly escaped a monster house by running to the stairs as quickly as possible, getting to the fourth floor. By now we were stronger than when we entered the Dungeon, so it was easier to get by the Pokemon on this floor than we had thought. We made it to the last floor in almost no time at all, and were greeted by a Thunderbolt launched by a Raichu.

"What do you want?" He demanded in a menacing voice. A Vulpix walked over then, looking bored.

"Don't be so dramatic, Riss. Can we help you?" He asked in the same bored tone. I hesitated slightly, because he had hostility glinting slightly in his eyes. I quickly got over this however, when I remembered how much criminals had hurt me before.

"We're an Exploration Team, here to bring you to justice!" I announced. The Vulpix laughed, seeming amused by the announcement. The Raichu left to the edge of the Bluff, and came back with an Eevee. My guess was that the Eevee was in this only in this for convenience by the slight sadness and hesitation in his eyes.

"Right… like you could beat us." The Vulpix laughed. "You're outnumbered, and out powered!" He laughed again. This angered me. Who was he to tell me what I could or couldn't do?! Sure, they looked powerful, but looks aren't everything. Then again, I'd been wrong before. It would be best to stay on our toes.

The battle began, the Raichu releasing another Thunderbolt. I barely dodged it, but was hit by a Tackle from behind. I looked up at my attacker, it was the Eevee.

"Sorry." He whispered before biting into my back. I yelped in pain, but I was soon rescued by Synth, just barely escaping another Thunderbolt from the Raichu. I jumped to my feet, coughing out a Smokescreen, trying to buy us some time. We didn't have any type advantages, and they had the upper hand because of their fire-type. I launched forward, using Scratch on the Raichu. It hit his face, and he yelped before releasing a Spark attack. It hit me, but not head-on, which I was thankful for. The electric energy shot through my arm, where it hit, to most of my body. It was like when you accidentally shocked someone after dragging your feet on a carpet, but the energy was magnified, and it was all over my body. I was paralyzed for a moment, after shaking it off I used an Ember, hitting him directly as he fought with Synth. He fell to the ground, unconscious.

I turned to the Eevee, he was obviously unhappy with this life, but was fighting us, so I could only retaliate with attacks of my own. I used an Ember on him, he yelped in pain and surprise, before running towards me blindingly fast. I realized he was using Quick Attack, and readied a Scratch for when he got close enough. After a few seconds of charging at me, he pounced. I used the Scratch, and he yelped again before falling to the ground. I looked around, trying to locate Synth in the quickly depleting smoke. I finally found him, dangerously close to the edge of the Bluff, the Vulpix looking sadistically happy as he launched an Ember, Synth barely able to get away from it. I growled, angry that he had backed him up in a corner. The Vulpix's head snapped in my direction, releasing a growl of his own. This gave Synth the opportunity to sneak away from the edge, and he gladly took it. Once the Vulpix realized that Synth was no longer where he wanted him to be, and was actually by my side, he launched a Flamethrower at Synth. There was no way he would be able to dodge it, and we all knew this. I ran in front of Synth taking the attack head on. It didn't hurt anywhere near what it would have done to Synth, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt. It actually felt like Hell. The flames enveloped me for a moment before dying. I looked at the Treasure Bag, satisfied with the fact that it was element-proof, and took out an Oran berry, eating it quickly to regain some energy before growling as the Vulpix came closer.

Synth ran forward at a blinding speed, it was even faster than the Eevee had been. I realized that he had learned Quick Attack, and mentally praised him, even if he couldn't hear it. The Vulpix was focused on me, so he didn't notice Synth's stealthy approach. The Treecko launched himself at the Vulpix, hitting him in the side. He yelped in surprise, before releasing a weak Flamethrower. It hit Synth head on, and he was engulfed in the flame much longer than I had been. I began to feel my rage building, and ran forward, Scratching the Vulpix with all my might. He yelped, obviously surprised with my burst of energy. After I was done with him, he was covered in tiny red welts on almost every visible part of his body. He tried to get up, but fell to the ground moments later, unconscious like his partners.

I looked to my side, seeing Synth laying on the ground, burnt badly. I gasped at the sight of him, so broken. I immediately wanted to do much worse things to the Vulpix, but the criminals were needed to come back alive. Curse the wanted notices… I sped to Synth's side, praying for him to be okay as I did so. His eyes were closed, burns on his eyelids. Tears fell silently as I tried to wake him up. I gave up after a moment or so, and fished for one of the Reviver Seeds in the Treasure Bag. After finding one, I gently pressed it to one of the un-charred parts of his chest. **(A/N: Here they don't have to eat a Reviver Seed, so deal with it! XD)** After a moment, the Reviver Seed disappeared, and Synth hissed in pain.

"You okay?" I asked softly as I searched for an Oran berry in the bag.

"Hurts like Hell, but yeah." He chuckled, another hiss also escaping his lips.

"Congrats on Quick Attack." I said nonchalantly as I fed him the berry. His eyes were still closed, but I knew he was awake. After a moment or so he regained some energy.

"Thanks. Let's get back to the Guild. If these guys escape, then the pain I'm in is worthless." He said simply. I unpinned the Exploration Badge from the bag and pressed the tiny button. In a flash of light, we were back at the Guild, criminals in tow. Officer Magnazone was waiting, so he took them when we returned. After helping Synth to his bed, which was extremely painful and difficult for poor Synth, I put the bag inside the chest we had gotten when we came here. He had fallen back asleep, so I went to town to collect the reward. Once I reached the colorful shop owned by the Kecleon, I waited at the counter. One of the Kecleon noticed me and approached me.

"Can I help you?" He asked politely.

"I brought the band of criminals to justice." I said simply. He immediately brightened, and beckoned his brother over.

"Did you get back our TM?" The other one asked expectantly. I shook my head, and he looked crestfallen.

"The Vulpix used it. My partner suffered one of the attacks. I'll need to hurry back soon, actually." I said thoughtfully.

"Are you talking about Synth?" One asked. I was surprised they cared. I nodded, and one of the brothers left, and came back with a basket filled with some big apples, a Max Elixir, and an assortment of Pecha and Oran berries. "Send him our best." One of them said simply. I thanked them, and hurried back to the Guild. Before I went all the way home, however, I set up a time for one of the doctors to check and care for Synth. The sun had set by the time I got back. I ate much quicker than usual at dinner, anxious to get back to my room. When I got back, Synth was awake, I could tell by his body language. He didn't say anything when I came in.

"Are you hungry?" I asked gently.

"No. Thanks anyway." He said. I took his emerald off of him carefully, and set it into the Treasure Bag.

"You're welcome. I set up an appointment with a doctor. They should be here by noon tomorrow." I said softly as I settled in for bed. He mumbled a sign of acknowledgement and fell asleep again. He was handling the pain much better than I ever could have. I fell asleep with the battle replaying before my eyes.

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**A/N:**** Whew! Talk about long! I hope they were in character and up to your standards, Dominik! :D Tell me what you guys think of the chapter! I loved it, personally. XD Review and tell me what you think of it! :P**

**Pixii out.**


	10. Chapter 9

**A/N:**** Thanks for all your reviews! I love you guys, XD. Tnt guy, thanks soooooooo much for leaving me to figure out the mystery reward… XD It's fine to send in a Pokemon in need of rescue if you've already sent in a team, no worries. Oh, and Dominik, **_**I**_** know that Snow doesn't like his um… occupation, but Synth and Pixii don't. Sawwy if they seemed cruel. DX Thanks so much to ****Jolt the Pikachu ****for inviting me to join his C2 Community! :D Oh yeah, can I have some more info on Nova? I wanna know how he reacts to being saved. Most people are grateful, I know, but some guys could be perverts -coughMareepcough-, others could be snobbish, and still others could have no idea they needed rescuing! XD Just put the info in your next review, or give it to me in a PM! Team Soggy Toast will come into the story this chapter. Wonderful name BTW!! X3 :D I REACHED 700 HITS!! XD This also marks an official week as a story! :D I'm so happy, and I hope you enjoy this chappie peoplez of Earth! I forgot, this is dedicated to ****Jolt the Pikachu****, just because he is new to the Fanfic community, ****Tnt guy****, and ****BlueUndine16****, cause they were my first reviewers! Yayz! X3**

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I woke up as the Loudred began yelling. I looked over to Synth's bed, and was satisfied with the fact that he was still asleep. Unfortunately though, he looked no better than yesterday. The Vulpix's sadistic grin returned to my mind, and I scowled. There was nothing else I could do to him now, he was brought to justice, and that was where my involvement ended. I went out to morning assembly, not bothering to take the Treasure Bag. I heard everything that was said, but didn't listen. When we dispersed, I knocked on Wigglytuff's intimidating door.

"Come in!" He yelled out. I opened the heavy doors, and found him sitting on a fluffy purple pillow, snacking on one of his Perfect Apples. "What is it friend?" He asked care freely.

"My partner was severely injured when we were out yesterday… um… can I just stay with him until he recovers enough to do missions again?" I anxiously awaited his reply. He looked up to the large ceiling, then down to the floor and sighed.

"How bad is he injured?" He asked.

"Badly burned on almost every part of his body." I said quietly. The Wigglytuff began to nod. I broke out into a relieved smile. "Okay, is he seeing a doctor?"

"Someone from the Hospital will be here around noon to check him over." I said. Wigglytuff nodded again, waved me off and began devouring his apple. I left the room, closing the heavy door as I went. When I was making my way back to my room however, I overheard a conversation coming from near the Guild master's door.

"Team name?…" Charap asked, obviously bored.

"How about Soggy Toast?…" a deeper male voice asked jokingly.

"Soggy Toast…" Charap said.

"Ow! Carrie! Stop it, that hurts!" I turned around to see what was happening, and a Piplup, obviously female, was pecking a Mudkip on the head. I laughed to myself quietly… _Welcome to the Guild…_

When I got back to my room, Synth was sleeping. I felt extremely bad for him, I wished I could've taken both Flamethrowers, but I wasn't fast enough, there was nothing I could do… I was just glad that he was alive. You didn't need to be a doctor to know that without that Reviver Seed, he would've died.

I got Torrent **(A/N: He's a Squirtle :B The List keeps comin' back! X3)** to fill up a bucket of cold water and dragged it back to my room. After finding a cloth, I dunked it in, the cold water stinging my hands painfully. I winced as I wrung the cloth out, making it damp. I put the cloth over Synth's torso, hoping to relieve some of the pain he must've been feeling. He hissed in his sleep at first, but his face became more peaceful than before in a matter of seconds. I smiled proudly to myself. At least there was something I could do to help him. I got another cloth and repeated the process, except I put it over his face. He'd probably enjoy the ability to see again. He hissed slightly when the damp cloth touched his face, but relaxed soon enough. Ignoring the pain, I did this again with another cloth, putting it on his legs. After I was finished with this, I went to the Mess Hall to grab some food for when Synth woke up. When I came into the room however, the Mudkip from before was arguing with Chimes.

"I just need two Blue gummies!" He yelled. Chimes shook her head…er… body, I guess.

"No! Wait until dinner!" Her high pitched voice rang out. I chose this moment to walk over to the pair.

"Excuse me Chimes?" I asked hesitantly. She probably knew about Synth's condition by now, Wigglytuff enjoyed spreading news, and news traveled fast at the Guild.

"Oh, hello Pixii. Can I help you?" She asked politely. I nodded.

"May I have two Grass gummies, please?" I asked. She nodded and smiled, then went to the kitchen to grab them. I looked to my right, and the Mudkip's jaw had dropped. "Yes?" I asked softly.

"How…how did YOU get food before dinner?!" He exclaimed. I just shook my head, signaling I would say no more on the matter.

"Are you new recruits, too?" I asked instead. He nodded reluctantly. I smiled softly at him. "Welcome to Wigglytuff's Guild." I said warmly.

"But, really, how did you get her to give you some food?" He asked skeptically. I shrugged. Chimes took this opportunity to come back with the gummies. "Thanks so much Chimes." I said gratefully. She nodded, and I began to leave to Mess Hall. The Mudkip decided to follow me.

"Where are you goin?" He asked as he followed me through the corridor.

"My room."

"You can eat in your ROOM?" He exclaimed. I once again shrugged. "HOW? What did you do to pull that?!" He asked skeptically as I made my way towards my door.

"If you really need to know…" I eyed him carefully. He nodded eagerly. After sighing, I began. "My partner is burned to a crisp at the moment. As you can imagine he can't move, and I won't leave his side for too long. There…" I continued walking, the Mudkip shocked in place. After I closed the door, I heard him talking to someone in the hallway.

"Malcolm, why are you standing in the hallway?" Asked a tired female voice.

"She got them to let her bring food into her ROOM, Carrie!" He exclaimed. I chuckled and turned to where Synth was laying. His whole body seemed almost entirely relaxed. I smiled warmly at my closest friend. He really was wonderful… I was broken out of my musings by him groaning. He'd woken up.

"Hey." I said softly. He mumbled some sort of greeting, and I laughed a bit. He never complained. "Hungry?" I asked.

"No…" he mumbled.

"You need to eat, Synth. You haven't eaten since yesterday afternoon." I said disapprovingly.

"Not hungry. Besides, that's not too long to go without eating…" He murmured. He and I both knew I was going to win the argument.

"If I have to force these down your throat, I will." I threatened. He sighed.

"Fine…" After feeding him the gummies, I took the cloths off of him, wherever I had placed them. I gasped quietly as I looked at him. The burns were more pronounced after cleaning off all of the black ashes. They were a deep red color, even on his eyelids. Thankfully he hadn't been able to open to them, so he didn't how bad it looked. I began dunking each cloth in the water, the liquid stinging my hands. I hissed a bit at the pain, but I hoped it was quiet enough that Synth wouldn't hear it. I had no such luck.

"Doesn't that hurt?" He asked disapprovingly. I sighed.

"What?" I asked innocently, trying to play dumb.

"Putting your hands in the water in that bucket. Don't say it doesn't." He said. I sighed again.

"Nothing compared to those burns. Besides, you can't say it doesn't help. I'll keep doing this until you're better no matter what you say." I said as I wrung out the first cloth and put it back on his torso. I repeated the cycle once before he spoke up.

"Thanks…" He sighed under his breath. I smiled warmly, even if he couldn't see it. I put the last cloth on his face gently. I could tell he'd fallen asleep when his breathing evened out. The doctor came later, and gave me a special Rawst berry powder to put on wet cloths and place them on him overnight. She assured me that he would be completely healed within two days with the powder.

I stayed in my room all afternoon, just watching Synth sleep or talking to him briefly when he'd wake up for about ten minutes. I didn't mind that he was sleeping that much, I was glad. I had only known Synth for maybe a week at most but the thought of losing him almost made me break down.

That night Brooklyn and Lily made me eat dinner. I protested profusely, but putting up a fight only made them more determined. I was now sitting at my usual spot, with Brooklyn and Olive on my left, and Lily and Chris across from us. I sighed deeply, hoping that this would somehow go quickly.

"Hello friends!" Wigglytuff yelled out. Most of the Pokemon cheered. "Let's all thank Chimes for this wonderful food!" Chimes floated upward, and then sat back down as the cheers died down. "We have some more new recruits! Let's give a round of applause for Carrie and Malcolm, Team Soggy Toast!" the Piplup and Mudkip from earlier entered the room, and the Guild clapped for them, most people laughing under their breath. The two came to sit near me. Apparently I was the only one that the Mudkip had met.

"Hi!" He said enthusiastically. Lily and Chris waved at the pair and smiled. Brooklyn and Olive smiled warmly and exchanged greetings with the two. I just looked down, sighing. "What's wrong with her?" The Mudkip asked, nodding his head at me as I rested my head in my hands.

"She's just grumpy 'cause Synth isn't here." Brooklyn answered, nudging me with her shoulder. Olive and Lily giggled. I looked up finally, and the Mudkip and Piplup were still standing. I nodded to the seats next to me, they were still empty.

"Who's Synth?" The tiny penguin Pokemon asked.

"Her best _friend_." Brooklyn said. It sounded like there was a double meaning to friend, but maybe being away from Synth was making me hallucinate.

"Sorry. I just feel bad for leaving him." I apologized. Olive snorted.

"It's not leaving him if you come out to _eat_, Pixii." She said as she nibbled on a purple gummy.

"Carrie, look!" The Mudkip exclaimed, getting her attention as he tried to juggle some Sitrus berries. He only succeeded in splattering yellow juice on the penguin Pokemon's feathers. She got a small glint of anger in her eyes, and pecked him three times on the head before sitting back down.

"What're your names?" I asked. I knew it was stupid, but I wanted to distract her from killing her partner.

"I'm Carrie. This is Malcolm. We're Team Soggy Toast." She said the team name with disgust.

"I was only joking when I said it Carrie! It's not my fault that parrot thought it was our real name!" Malcolm exclaimed apologetically. She sighed and began eating some blue gummies. I nibbled on my stew every now and then, lost in my thoughts as the meaningless chatter filled the air around me. When dinner was finally over I made a quick getaway to my room, re-wetting Synth's cloths and putting the special Rawst power on them before going to sleep.

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**A/N:**** Team Soggy Toast might become regulars! :D It was fun to write with them! I hope I kept them in character Teh Auditor! X3 Hmm… Brooklyn might be on to something there… Muahahaha XD Yay for 700 hits. This story is becoming so popular! :D Check out Jolt The Pikachu's new story, it's awesome! BTW, I joined his community! :D Blue, you should too! It's for PMD fics. Oh yeah, I CAN BE A BETA IN FOUR DAYS!! :D YAY!! That's all for now, oh yeah, my Grandma's doing better yays! Please review! :-)**

**Pixii out.**


	11. Chapter 10

**A/N:**** Thanks so much for all your reviews guys, I wouldn't still be writing if it weren't for you! :3 I love you peoples!! XD I still have my PMD:TT poll on my profile, go there and VOTE!! XD I wanna know who everyone's fave characters are! Anywayz, I'm keeping Malcolm and Carrie as regulars Teh Auditor, SO THERE!! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA -cough cough- lol. I've decided that this chapter will be dedicated to all my reviewers, just because I feel like it! X3 (And because it might soften you up after you read the chapter) 00 Enjoy the chappie peoples of earth! :D And don't kill me for what happens! 0o Please? I gave you a double update. Author good, remember?**

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I woke up sometime during the middle of the night, my tail lighting a small portion of the room around me. I tried to fall back asleep, but was having no such luck. Giving up on getting some more rest, I got up and made my way over to Synth's bed. He was sleeping peacefully, the cloths still doing their work. I re-wet them and put some more medicine on them before putting them back. Deciding that I might as well do _something_ since I couldn't sleep I exited the Guild, making my way down to the Beach.

When I got there I sat down by the shore, the gentle waves glittering in the light of the moon, a soft glow being given off by my tail. I sat on the sand, just thinking peacefully for a few moments longer. That is, I sat there blissfully unaware for a few moments longer. The sand crunched loudly, and my head snapped in the direction of the sound instinctively. The Staraptor's face glowed with the light from my tail, rage showing easily in his eyes.

"What's a pretty girl like you doing out so late? And after you have such a terrible enemy waiting for you to slip up, too…" He mused. It would've sounded playful on the surface, that is, if anyone else was around. Right now it was menacing. I debated running, but I knew it would be futile. He was too fast for me to get away. I growled lowly as I realized if I made it out of here alive I wouldn't be able to tend to Synth. Unfortunately he mistook my growl as a threat, and swiped one of his large, sharp talons across my face. I tried to scream as the claws ripped my skin, but I couldn't find my voice. I fell backwards, covering my face with my hands. I moved my hands away from my face moments later, and they were wet with blood. I looked up to the large bird, fear evident in my eyes. He simply laughed, and from behind him came the flunkies. "Pudge, Ace, hold her for me, will you." He commanded. The birds nodded and came towards me. Fear was overtaking my thoughts, and I began to attack rapidly, firing off a Smokescreen, then releasing Ember after Ember attack in the direction of the birds. When I felt myself being held in place on both sides, I knew I had missed every time. My eyes got wide as the Staraptor began ascending into the almost black sky. He began turning flaming red as he dove back to earth, heading strait for me. He smashed into me, and I heard the sickening crack as my ribs broke. I whimpered in pain, and he only laughed. He then began using Close Combat, the force of the attack almost knocking me unconscious. The state of sleep would've been a relief, sadly though, he made sure to let me regain energy before firing off another attack. He wouldn't let sleep come.

The tears fell silently as he used Wing Attack on me again.

When dawn was almost here, he and his partners fled, leaving me on the beach, broken. I felt as exhaustion set in, letting me fall into the black waters of sleep. With sleep the pain didn't leave, it was only numbed. I would slip in and out every so often, and I could feel as I slowly died, the fire on my tail dimming ever so slightly every second. I welcomed death, and the numbness it brought with it. I would never have to feel again. But every time the light on my tail was about to go out, I'd think of what this would do to Synth, and my tail would set ablaze once more. I didn't know how long I lay on the beach. Time seemed a nuisance in the state I was in. It could've been years before someone found me. Maybe months, even just hours. Point is, I couldn't tell. When I entered the conscious world for what felt like the millionth time, I heard a voice.

"Pixii!" It yelled. I knew it was my name, but I was too weak to respond. I felt as a strange sensation overtook my body, and I was lifted into the air. I fell into unconsciousness once more, the black waters enveloping me.

When I woke up again, it no longer felt like I was on the beach. There was no smell of saltwater in the air, and no breeze. I sighed deeply, enjoying the sensation of breathing comfortable before I felt a sharp pain in my chest. I had forgotten about the broken ribs I had until this moment, and like a switch, the rest of the pain came back. I let the black waters claim me again, and fell asleep once more.

The peacefulness of unconsciousness was once again shattered, but it was because of the loud voices outside my door. I realized it wasn't my door though, as I looked around the room. It was pure white, and I was on a comfortable bed, wrapped in bandages almost everywhere. It soon came to me where I was. The Hospital.

"You shouldn't even be able to move yet! Go back to the Guild and come back tomorrow!" I couldn't recognize the voice.

"I don't care. Let me in to see her." Synth's voice came through the door. It was almost unrecognizable though. It was even, threatening, and deadly. I heard the lock on the door click moments later, and Synth came into the room. His burns still looked horrible, but his gleaming yellow eyes were open, and the burns weren't as red. When he saw me awake, he sprinted toward my bed, and stood beside it.

"Hi." I said weakly. He looked surprised. If it was because I could speak in the state I was in, or because of the way my voice sounded, I couldn't be sure.

"What happened?" He whispered.

"I couldn't sleep." I said simply. I didn't want to retell anything from that horrible night right now.

"Lack of sleep doesn't lead to Hospitalization." He said sternly. "You _will_ tell me Pixii." He said threateningly. I gulped painfully. I knew he wouldn't do it, but the tone he used was even more frightening than what the Staraptor had done to me. I drew in a painful breath and began.

"Like I said, I couldn't sleep. I decided to go for a walk and sat down while I was at the Beach. Staraptor and his flunkies found me. He had them hold me down and attacked me. I don't know how many times I almost died before I woke up here…" I explained. Then a thought came to me. "Who found me?" I asked him. A look of gratitude came to his beautiful golden yellow eyes.

"Lily and Chris." He replied. Then a look of pure hate and rage came into his eyes. One that I had never seen before. "When I find that bastard I'll--" he was cut off by the door slamming open.

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**A/N:**** Don't hate me fore my cliffy! She's alive isn't she?! That's gotta count for something? Lol, first time Synth's ever cursed, he must be pissed! 0o**

**Remember, if you kill the author, you get no more Team Twilight! Pixii called Synth's eyes beautiful in her mind… hmm… DON'T KILL ME!! Um… Review! Yeah, that's it, review!**

**Pixii out.**


	12. Chapter 11

**A/N:**** A lot of people have asked how I can write so fast, -coughBluecough- I just love how many reviews I get per chapter, and how well I can make you guys relate to Pixii. Just the fact that I've got at least two dedicated fans that enjoy my writing is enough to keep me going! I've now got 800 hits, kinda scary for only a week! XD Some of you commented on my awesomely awesome personality flip for Synth last chapter, I love it when he's pissed, don't you? XD He forced himself out of bed and everything, DAMN! Lol, I might've slipped up when I wrote some of you replies to your reviews and called Pixii Synth's "Love"… Uh… Pay no attention to that, I was high on sugar… THAT'S IT! I WAS SUGARHIGH!! 0.0' Yeah… Good thing Pixii didn't die, Synth would've gone crazy and sought revenge until Team Whirlwind was nothing but dust in the wind… :D He's mighty protective when it comes to people he considers his friends. Anyways, for those of you that sent me Pm's asking the identity of the Pokemon that barged in during Synth's rant last chapter, and for those of you that tried to guess, it wasn't Team Whirlwind. XD Remember, author good. ;-) Enjoy the chapter peoplez of earth!**

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Synth's head snapped away from my face and to the door. I refused to turn my head, frightened of the pain that might ensue, so I just glanced that way. Wigglytuff, Charap, Team Magic, Team Flame Petal, and everyone else from the Guild came into the now crowded room. Wigglytuff had a look of fury on his face, from what though, I didn't know.

"Hi everyone." I said hoarsely. They all replied in unison, then Wigglytuff began to speak.

"What happened friend?" He asked anxiously, the anger still in his eyes. I was about to answer, but Synth looked at me and shook his head.

"Team Whirlwind attacked her last night." He said. His eyes suddenly held pain, it must've been from the fact that he shouldn't have been moving at the moment, and he had walked all the way over here. I gave him a look, and he sighed before sitting down on the edge of my bed. Lily and Brooklyn giggled at this, but for what reason, I didn't know. I glanced back at Wigglytuff, whom was now pacing the floor.

"What is it Guild Master?" Rose asked as he continued pacing. Wigglytuff suddenly stopped.

"I'm getting Team Matrix to bring them in…" He said menacingly. Who was that? One of the other Pokemon voiced my thoughts. "A very successful Exploration Team that used to train at the Guild. I'll have to get someone to search for them though… I think they're in Hoenn at the moment, exploring Magma Cavern… hmm…" He continued rambling as we looked at him blankly. He soon turned back to me. "You'll be in here for the next few weeks!" He said cheerfully. I blinked rapidly, trying to comprehend how this was in any way a situation to be cheerful about. We'd have to put our team on hold for longer than I'd originally thought. I sighed deeply and closed my eyes for a moment. The last thing I heard before I drifted back to sleep was the shuffling of feet out of the room.

--

The next two weeks were extremely _boring_, but not as uneventful as they would've been had I been alone. Synth almost never left my side, but when he did it was only for a half hour at most. To say the least, I was glad that he had stayed with me. His burns got better quickly, and within days there was no evidence they had ever been there. Other Pokemon from the Guild would visit me sometimes, mostly Brooklyn and Olive or Lily and Chris. Malcolm and Carrie came twice, Malcolm trying to cheer me up with his 'improved' juggling, and Carrie sitting with me when Synth was gone. I recovered much quicker than they expected me to, so I was able to leave the Hospital within the next week.

"Are you excited to go back to the Guild?" Synth asked as he helped me carry the three boxes I had. They were filled with the many stuffed Teddiursas, get well cards, and bouquets of flowers I had gotten from either the Pokemon in town or the Guild. I sat up, the dull ache in my chest nothing compared to before.

"Very. I can't wait to be able to move again!" I exclaimed happily. It was true, too. Synth hadn't let me move at all in the past two weeks, and when other Pokemon were with me it wasn't much better. We walked out of the Hospital room for the last time, hopefully.

After exchanging greetings with a few towns Pokemon, we made it to the Guild. I received a surprise when I got there. There were balloons in the assembly room, and a table set up, holding _a lot_ of wrapped gifts. It reminded me of a birthday party, but it wasn't exactly the same thing. At dinner that night, the feast prepared was in my honor. I was in a word, ecstatic, that the Guild cared so much about me.

When we finished the wonderful dinner, we all dispersed to our rooms. Wigglytuff had some of the other Pokemon bring my gifts to our room. There were about thirty, so I had to put most of them in the corner of the room. After opening all of them, I realized that about twenty of them were Joy Seeds. How they got them, I'd never know. _They have their ways…_ Four of them were Reviver Seeds, and five of them were different TM's. The last gift was an enlarged Treasure Bag. All of these would come in handy in the future, and my eyes welled up with unshed tears as I realized how much everyone truly cared. Synth came to stand next to me as I put the last of the Joy Seeds into the new Treasure Bag. He looked at me anxiously when he noticed that I had tears in my eyes. I hastily wiped them away.

"What's wrong?" He asked, concern in his yellow eyes.

"Nothing." I sniffed. He looked unconvinced, but let it drop. I put the new Treasure Bag on top of the green chest near Synth's bed and sat back down on my own, sighing as I did so. We settled in for bed, and I was soon asleep. This type of rest was much more preferred than the black waters I had experienced during my first few days at the Hospital.

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**A/N:**** Sorry for such a short chapter, but I just HAD to put it up! XD I love writing this story, and WOOOOHOOOO, triple update!! XD Thanks so much for the wonderful reviews I get from all of you. I introduced Tnt guy's Exploration Team this chapter, YAY! I hope you enjoy my writing, no matter how short this one, and the last chapter have been! :D Once again, I WAS SUGARHIGH!! At least I finished the cliffy quickly! :D**

**Pixii out.**


	13. Chapter 12

**A/N:**** I love you peoples, and guess what?! I've got 1000 hits! They're growing by the day, and it's staggering how much of a positive response I'm getting for my little fic! I haven't even gotten flamed! XD Even though I'm sure the main reason is that my dedicated fans will track the flamer down and kill 'im. XD If not, meh. And thanks so much to all of my reviewers! I expected maybe two or three reviews at most, but 60 is well over any expectation I EVER had!! XD About the length of last chapter, I needed the two weeks to move quickly. It would've just been her laying in bed while Synth sits in a chair next to her giving her the evil eye every time she moves. XD I'm gonna try to make this chapter **_**much**_** longer than the previous two, but no promises. Once again, I love you peoples of Earth! :D Oh yeah, little 'fun' fact about our favorite little Staraptor: He's loosely based off of Scar from the Lion King, which btw is his name, so it's just some factual info on our most hated bad guy! :D I know it's asking a lot from you guys, but does anyone have the moves Charmander and Treecko learn in PMD2 up to level 40? I'll make Scale appear this chapter! :D Thanks again to Tnt guy for submitting him, and sorry if he's out of character. Even though, judging by the reviews I've gotten from other submitters, they're usually in character. I'll try to live up to the reputation some of you have given me around the fanfic world! :D I rewrote this chapter around ten times before I was anywhere near satisfied with it! DX **

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I woke up to the screeching of Red again the next morning, and blinked away the sleepiness in my eyes before trying to get up. I hissed as I did so, my bandages had been removed, and I was almost fully recovered, but I was still sore. Glancing over to Synth's bed quickly, I retrieved my green ribbon from the Treasure Bag and made it into a bow around my neck. As weird as it sounded, I'd missed the feelings running through me as I wore it. I fished Synth's emerald out, and looked over to his bed again. This time he was sitting up, fully awake. I tossed the gemstone to him, and he gracefully caught it, putting it around his neck. We left the room without a word, and went to Morning Assembly. Once everyone was present, Wigglytuff entered the room.

"Good morning, friends!" He exclaimed enthusiastically. We cheered until he signaled for us to stop. "Today we'll be doing some rescue requests!" He yelled out. We cheered again, and once we were dismissed, we dispersed. Synth and I climbed the ladder and stood in front of the large Bulletin Board, picking a job offer at random. I looked over the letter, with Synth reading over my shoulder.

_Please help me!_

_I was swimming in the ocean at high-tide, and I drifted into Beach Cave! When I tried to get back out I got lost in an unfamiliar tunnel! I'm stranded and lost, please help! I'll give you the reward when I get out!_

_- Scale the Dratini_

I stuffed the paper into the Treasure Bag and we set off towards the beach. After reaching the gorgeous shore my breathing quickened, and I suddenly felt horrified. I was rooted to the spot. When Synth noticed I was no longer following, he sprinted back over, looking at me questioningly. When I didn't respond he sighed and took hold of my arm, starting to pull me. I no longer had control of my body, and started protesting and yelling loudly at him. When we got inside the Beach Cave, however, I regained control, and Synth looked at me skeptically.

"What was that about?" He asked cautiously, as if I would explode at any moment.

"I don't know… the sight of the Beach…" I gulped, remembering the pain that I had suffered there. He nodded, a look of understanding in his eyes.

"Let's go save that Dratini…" He said and began walking. I nodded and followed dutifully behind. We made our way through the damp corridors and passageways of the first floor, but found no Dratini, so continued searching on the second floor.

We came across a Corsola and a Lileep as we exited the stairs. When I looked at Synth quickly, he just nodded, signaling that I should use Smokescreen. After coughing out the noxious smoke, I watched as Synth skillfully darted through the haze, using Quick Attack on the approaching Corsola. After groaning from the unsuspected attack, it fainted. The Lileep roared with anger at the sight of her fallen partner, and began launching out tentacles at Synth, trying to use Bind as he easily dodged. I launched an Ember from where I stood, knocking it out.

The gentle sound of dripping water echoed off the walls of the damp cave as we marched onward, searching for the lost Dratini. We ran into a Shellos in one of the many confusing corridors, but it assured us that it was part of an Exploration Team, so there was no fighting involved. We searched the entire floor, running into other Pokemon occasionally, but defeating them with relative ease. I noticed just _how_ much easier it was to fight them off than our first exertion in the Cave. We reached the stairs, and after deciding that there was no way that we had missed any area on this floor, entered them, anxious to get to the next floor.

After searching rooms upon rooms, and fighting numerous Pokemon, I started getting hungry, so I fished in the Treasure Bag for an apple, but came up with a Joy Seed instead. I didn't know much about these seeds, just that they were very rare. Which made me wonder once again _where_ everyone got the seeds from. Shrugging, I nibbled on it as we walked through the damp cave. The Joy Seed tasted sweet like a Pecha berry. As soon as I finished it, I felt a strange burst of power and energy. Almost like that day at the Dojo… **(A/N: She leveled up! :D She's now around level 14.) **I shrugged it off and continued following Synth. After a few minutes I heard Synth's stomach growl. Giggling, I handed him a Joy Seed. He thanked me and ate it in one bite. After completely searching the third floor, we decided to try the fourth.

When we reached the bottom of the stairs, we scanned the small room they had led us to quickly, then went through a narrow hallway to the right of the stairs. After squeezing through this passageway, we saw a tunnel that looked… new. It was hard to describe, but by comparison, this hall was much more polished than the others, and it didn't look nearly as wet. I pointed it out to Synth, and we made our way down the long tunnel. Strangely, we didn't run into any savage Pokemon along the way.

Upon entering the room at the end of the hall, I let out an audible gasp. The area was large, to say the least. It had a sparkling pool of ocean water in the middle, filling in a large indentation in the usually smooth ground. In the middle of the tiny pool was a …Dratini! I nudged Synth with my shoulder and pointed to the small worm-like dragon Pokemon. His beautiful eyes glittered with excitement as we sprinted toward the edge of the pool.

"Scale?" I called out uncertainly. Upon hearing the name the young Dratini snapped its head in my direction. I waved, and he seemed to perk up. He swam his way over to us swiftly.

"H-hello. Do you know any Exploration Teams that could h-help me?" He asked uncertainly. I giggled a bit, and he looked puzzled.

"We got your rescue request." Synth's smooth voice rang out from behind me. I smiled warmly at the Dratini, and a relieved look took control of its face.

"Th-thank you s-so much!" He exclaimed. I smiled larger, and took hold of the small dragon-type as Synth pressed the tiny button in the middle of our Exploration Badge. In a flash of light we were transported back to the Guild. Scale bowed his head gratefully and in another flash of light, he was gone. _WHAT??_

In a few moments there was another flash, and the tiny Dratini was back, except this time he had a blue Orb and a bag of money. He bowed again, smiled, and slithered his way up the ladder. I looked at Synth questioningly, and he only shrugged. I noticed Charap happily flitting his way over to us, and then frowning at how light the bag was.

"Only 100 dollars?" He said disgustedly. He then sighed deeply, and handed us back 10 dollars. I growled quietly for the lack of pay we had gotten. I was glad to have helped other Pokemon, but we put our all into our work for around eight hours and only got ten dollars! Charap left the room soon enough, and we brought our reward to our room before joining most of the other Guilds members in the Mess Hall.

We went to bed that night I was full, happy, and tired. I had gotten used to lazing around in the passed few weeks because of my injuries, and all the energy I exerted today was finally demanding to be replenished. As soon as I laid in my bed, I fell asleep.

--

**A/N:**** I'm not really happy with the ending to this chapter, but it was sorta rushed! :D Once again, thanks so much for the reviews! Also, Nova shows up next chapter, DUN DUN DUUUN!! He's submitted by Jolt the Pikachu, check his PMD story out, btw! It's awesome and at the moment is only getting reviewed by little ol' me! XD It really is a good fic, and it's got Treecko in it!! OMG! -Uses hypnotizing powers- YOU WILL LOOK AT JOLT THE PIKACHU'S PMD FIC, OR ELSE………… Or else what, you ask? I dunno… I haven't thought that far ahead… XD 0.0' Review and tell me what you think! Bye!**

**Pixii out.**


	14. Chapter 13

**A/N: ****Thanks so much for the reviews last chapter, even if some were for the A/N! XD I forgot to warn you guys that I was going to replace it with a real chapter, so it's my fault really. :D I'd like to know if Scale was in anyway how you thought he would be, Tnt guy! If he wasn't I can go back and change it to fit your ideas for him! This chapter Nova shows up! Yay! I've decided to do little fun facts on our favorite evil birdies in every chapter from now on! :D Isn't that awesometastic?! XD I'll put the fun fact at the A/N at the bottom of the chapter, just because I'm ever-so-awesome like that! See you at the bottom of this chapter! :D**

**--**

When I woke up it wasn't because of Red's yelling this time, it was because Synth was shaking my shoulder. I had been having a nightmare, so it was easy to understand why Synth had shaken me awake. I looked up into his yellow orbs, the fear from the nightmare still clear in my eyes. He looked back questioningly, so I sighed.

"You okay?" He asked in a whisper. I peered out my window to avoid his gaze, and noticed the navy blue sky, glittering stars sprinkled throughout.

"Yeah… just a bit shaken up." I answered truthfully. When he didn't ask about the nightmare right away, I began to relax, thinking that he would drop the subject until morning, when I could claim ignorance. I was definitely very unlucky at night.

"About what?" He prompted, concern and curiosity in his golden yellow orbs. I took in a deep breath before answering.

"It was basically me reliving what happened with that Staraptor a few weeks ago… except that this time, my dad was helping him, and I watched as my mom was killed by them…" I gulped, trying to keep my tears at bay. "Then they came towards me, and my dad was about to hit me with Flamethrower before you woke me up…" I choked back a sob as it began to come up my throat, Synth noticed my struggle, and sat next to me on my bed as I cried silently into his chest. We sat like that for a good ten minutes before the tears let up.

"Thanks." I sniffed. He gave me one last squeeze, rubbed my arm, and went to his own bed. I smiled slightly at my wonderful friend as he settled back in for the rest of the night. I yawned and turned over, falling back asleep quickly.

--

The next time I woke up it was Synth shaking me AGAIN. I sighed and rolled over, not caring what time it was. I mumbled an almost inaudible "Five more minutes…" before what he said next woke me up.

"I hear Malcolm's been practicing his juggling, he said something about doing a show for the Guild using buckets of water… He asked if I knew what the best seating arrangements would be, and I told him I'd get back to him. I'm starting to think putting you in the middle of the front row is for the best…" He sighed nonchalantly as I froze in bed. Malcolm couldn't improve that poor act no matter how much he practiced. That would mean losing his props, in this case, spilling the water. I knew it was an empty threat, but I wasn't willing to take chances with water. I'd had enough of water for a lifetime. I groaned as I got up from bed, swinging my legs over to side.

"Next time you disturb my rest I'm gonna burn you into next December…" I growled as I put my bow on. He chuckled from behind me.

"You wouldn't do that." He called my bluff. Fine, two could play at this game.

"You wouldn't really subject me to the torture of front row at one of Malcolm's juggling acts." I challenged. He raised an eyebrow.

"It got you out of bed didn't it?" He shrugged and put his emerald on, waiting for me at the door. I blinked twice before grabbing the Treasure Bag and following him.

Morning Assembly was just like most other mornings, so I didn't pay attention much. After dispersing, Synth and I climbed the ladder to the main room and looked at the Rescue Missions bulletin board. After picking a note at random, I read it aloud.

_Save the Idiot!_

_My teammate Nova went into Mt. Bristle alone because my other teammate made a comment about his endurance. He said something about proving us wrong before storming off. We searched the mountain, but it's unfamiliar territory! We're only here on vacation, so it was difficult even finding the dungeon. He's a really arrogant Torchick, but he's nice once you get to know him, I promise!! We'll talk rewards after he's saved._

_- Team Solar Force_

I looked at Synth for his opinion, he simply nodded and we sped off. I guess I was right about this becoming routine… After quickly depositing our money in the Bank, we set off for Mt. Bristle. The mountain was… big, to say the least. It had dead saplings covering most of its exterior, making it look much more intimidating than it actually was.

We fought off Starly constantly, and I attacked them almost savagely. I had nothing against _these_ birds, but I'd had a bad experience with their final evolution, thus making my survival instinct kick in when I saw a Pokemon even remotely related to a Staraptor. Synth used his moves swiftly, constantly dodging and using his Quick Attack to counter the Starlys' we faced. We passed up to floor 3 with almost no problems, but we encountered five enraged Machop. Apparently they were angry because a Torchick was running around Mt. Bristle telling all the Pokemon how weak they were, then running to the next floor. I sighed as I thought about the Rescue Mission description. This must've been our Pokemon.

The Machop wouldn't listen to reason, and started to attack us. We tried to dodge at first, but then they surrounded us, making a circle so we couldn't flee. I coughed out a thick Smokescreen that was almost too dense to see through, and charged at a random Machop within the group, feeling the familiar heat coming up my throat. After getting into firing range, I let the tiny flames loose. The Machop howled in pain and retaliated with Low Kick. I dodged and used Scratch on the already weakened Pokemon, making it faint.

I turned back to where Synth was. He had taken one down, and was fighting the last two. I charged up my Ember again, and blew out, startling one of the remaining Machop into turning towards me, getting ready to use Karate Chop. I growled at him as he came closer, then used Scratch before he could use his attack.

I looked at where Synth was again, and he had just taken down the last Machop. I smiled at him, and he returned it, then we headed up the stairs.

--

We were now on the fifth floor, and I was getting exhausted. We'd battled more Geodude, Nidorinas, Starlys, and Doduos than I could count! My stomach started growling, announcing to the world part of my exhaustion. A faint blush crept to my cheeks as other Pokemon in the room looked at me. Luckily it was well hidden, due to my orange skin. I plunged my hand into the Treasure Bag, eager to find some food. Moments later I felt something smooth inside, and ripped my hand out, holding the item. I was ecstatic when I came upon an apple.

I ate it happily, then burned the core into ashes as we made our way through the mountain, the dusty dirt floor making us cough occasionally as we walked.

--

We were now only a few feet from the stairs leading up to the last floor, and we were both panting. It was just our luck to come across _every single stinking Pokemon_ that lived here, and they all wanted to battle! We finally made it to the top of the mountain, only to find a lone Torchick, sitting on the ground, looking bored out of his mind.

"Um, hello? We're here to save you…?" I called out uncertainly. The Torchick's head snapped in our direction.

"FINALLY! What took you so long?!" He yelled out. I now had a deep scowl on my face.

"Trekking up eight floors of non-stop pissed off Pokemon. They all complained about _someone_ calling them weak, then began attacking us. Now if you're gonna stand here and piss _us_ off more than we already are, I suggest you carry many, MANY Reviver Seeds." I growled as I took the Exploration Badge out. The Torchick cowered back before we were teleported back to the Guild. Awaiting our arrival was _another_ Treecko and a Mudkip. The Torchick smiled brightly before a deep frown appeared on his face. I looked over to see why he was frowning, and the Mudkip was moving his tail slowly, as if threatening someone. The Torchick slowly made his way back to his teammates.

"What is wrong with you Nova?! That was one of the STUPIDEST stunts you've ever pulled!" The Mudkip yelled out. The Torchick mumbled a quiet apology. The Mudkip seemed to notice that we were still there, and smiled at us. "Thanks for bringing back this idiot. For us." He said appreciatively. We nodded. The Mudkip turned around to talk to the Treecko, and when they weren't looking the Torchick swiped about twenty seeds from his partners.

"Here, these are Blast Seeds, they'll come in handy." He whispered before walking out the door. When the other two noticed he was gone they ran after him, arguing. Synth and I looked at each other, shrugged, and went down for dinner.

--

**A/N:**** My favorite part of this chapter is definitely the Malcolm threat! XD I'm sorry, but the dude's bad juggling will come in VERY handy in the future! XD I hope Nova and the others were up to expectations, Jolt! :D Soon we'll get to go on a Guild Expedition! Yayness! XD**

**Our fun fact this chapter is on Ace!: His father left his mother when he was little to pursue a younger Swellow, after which his mother had to raise him and his five siblings alone. Due to the lack of parental guidance in his life, he became rebellious and left the nest too early. When he turned 15 in the Pokemon world, he joined a violent Staravia on a new Exploration Team. The rest is history.**


	15. Chapter 14

**A/N: Hey peoples! Apparently I'm still baffling my wonderful reviewers with my update time! XD Didn't I tell you guys it was your reviews that gives me the drive? XD You're all so wonderful! :D I love constructive criticism, so thanks to Spiritpelt for the very informative review! :D It's just that most people reading this story have played the PMD2 game, so they're relatively informed on the dungeons and such. But I'll try to use more description in the dungeons! As for the way she acted, it wasn't her controlling her body really, it was more her survival instinct. Remember, she almost DIED on that beach. I would kick and scream if I was dragged there too. :D Scar is my fave villain, too. GUESS WHAT?! I'm now a Betareader! Aren't I awesome?! XD Okay, back to PMD:TT, Tnt guy gets an uber awesome present next chapter, YAY!! Oh yeah, I'll put the next Fun Fact at the bottom of the chapter! :P**

**--**

I woke up earlier the next morning than Synth, seeing as Red hadn't started going psycho yet. Sighing, I tried to get a few more minutes of sleep. When I realized that this was only wishful thinking, I got out of bed and put my bow and the Treasure Bag on. Red was soon yelling and banging on doors, like most other mornings, so Synth was also soon up.

"Morning." He said as he yawned.

"G'morning." I replied as I tossed him his emerald. After he put it on we went out for assembly, waiting for the rest of the Guild members to come. We were soon all present, so Wigglytuff came in. He was-- wait, why was he wearing a _GENGAR MASK_?!

"Hi everyone!" He greeted. We cheered much softer than normal, afraid our guild master had gone crazy. "Do you like my mask?" He asked excitedly. …_Silence_… He growled slightly, and we all cheered. He laughed, then began rattling on about today's assignment. "Today I want you all to go to Marowak Dojo! Fight at least one battle, then you can do whatever you want." He explained.

When we were dismissed, Synth and I began the walk to the Dojo. We finally made it to the large stone training facility minutes later, with Marowak there to greet us.

"Back for more training, I presume?" He asked politely. We both nodded, and he took our Treasure Bag, setting it against a wall. "Follow me." He said. We complied, and were led down the same long hallway. After being settled into a large room at the end of the hall, Marowak paused in the doorway. "Type preference?"

"Flying." We said at the same time. The Marowak nodded, and left the room. I looked back at Synth whilst I fiddled with my bow. He was clenching his emerald in one of his paws, wonder and happiness in his eyes. Moments later, a Swellow, Pigeotto, and Staravia entered the room. We each got into fighting positions, neither side making the first move.

The first to begin the battle was the Pigeotto, flapping its wings to form a powerful Gust attack. It headed for Synth, but he used Quick Attack to dodge it, narrowly escaping the small tornado. The Swellow's beak lit up, powering up for a Peck attack. I took the momentary pause to cough out a dense Smokescreen. Under the cover of the thick haze, I crept towards the Swellow, which was now searching for one of us to release the attack on. I inhaled, the familiar warmth filling my throat. As I exhaled, the tiny flames hit the Swellow directly, creating a small explosion on its torso. The bird yelped in pain, but before it could retaliate, I sprinted toward it, using Scratch. The bird fainted, with the occasional cluster of small red welts and some charred feathers every so often. I turned around, and saw that Synth was backed into a corner, the Staravia and Pigeotto ganging up on him. I growled lowly.

Sprinting forward, I readied an Ember attack. One of the birds noticed me, and sent a Gust attack my way. I didn't anticipate either of them noticing, so I was unable to dodge, and as a result I was slammed back into a wall. The Staravia started running at me with blinding speed, using Quick Attack. I waited for the Pokemon to get close enough, then let loose an Ember attack. Unfortunately, the large bird _did_ expect my attack, and dodged. I growled as it got closer, my survival instinct kicking in again. When it got too close, I began using Scratch on it, causing the bird to faint. I stopped myself before I did anything else.

I looked back at Synth, whom was fairing quite well, and decided to wait until he asked for help to actually interfere. He used Absorb on the Staravia, making it lose energy, and letting Synth regain some. With the extra power boost, Synth used Pound, slamming his tail into the large bird, and making it faint. We stood in silence for a moment before Marowak came in.

"Would you like to continue?" He asked courteously. I shook my head, while Synth nodded. I nodded this time, and Synth shook his head. I laughed quietly at this situation, and then waited for Synth's final answer. Synth shook his head. I picked up the Treasure Bag on our way out, glad to be done with training for a while.

"What do you want to do?" I asked as I took out a Joy Seed.

"Um… well first, I want to find out what a Joy Seed even _does_, after that I draw a blank." Synth replied as we walked.

"Okay." I agreed cheerfully. We asked around Town for a while, getting no answers until we asked the Kecleon brothers.

"May we help you?" One of them asked politely.

"Yes please. Do you know what Joy Seeds do?" I asked.

"Well, why would you want to know?" The other one asked. I shrugged.

"Just curious. I've got a lot of them." I answered. They looked at us wide-eyed.

"Um… well, they heighten your senses, and raise your stats and experience. If you eat enough of them, sometimes you evolve. These seeds are extremely rare though…" One of them answered. No wonder I felt that strange burst of energy after I ate them.

"Thank you!" I said appreciatively, grabbing Synth's hand and dragging him along. "We can evolve if we eat enough of these…?" I stared in wonder at the Joy Seed I held in my hand.

"Interesting… We should probably put them away in Kangaskhan Storage…" He suggested. I shrugged, and we made our way to the large Kangaroo-shaped storage building. When we stood at the counter, the owner noticed us and came over.

"Hello! Would you like to put anything in storage today?" She asked happily. Synth and I nodded.

"Can we put in 18 Joy Seeds, 3 Oran berries, and a an apple?" I asked. She smiled, nodded, and brought out a large box.

"Put all of them in here, Hun." She said cheerfully. I complied, and she put the box under the counter. We exchanged parting words and left.

"She seems nice." I commented. Synth nodded.

"She was one of the only people that treated my kindly when other Pokemon didn't." He smiled.

We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around town, and talking about nothing in particular. When night fell we went back to the Guild for dinner, and after eating our fill, we decided to go out to Sharpedo Bluff, and just hang around there for a while.

We sat listening to the waves below, and watching as they glittered in the light of a full moon for a while, until we heard a twig snap from behind us. Instinctively, I snapped my head in that direction, and froze completely when I saw what awaited us. It was none other than Team Whirlwind.

"Well look who's recovered…" The Staraptor smiled threateningly. Synth stood up, taking a protective stance in front of me. I couldn't respond to anything around me. I wanted to stand up behind Synth, and be ready to fight if necessary, but I couldn't make my legs respond to my brain. I felt numb. I wanted to say something back, but I seemed to have lost my voice.

"Leave." Synth spoke in the same deadly voice as he had at the Hospital only weeks before. I could imagine the pure hate and fury shining in his eyes as he said this. When the Staraptor started walking slowly towards Synth, my body finally seemed to react. I jumped to my feet, ready to attack at any moment.

When the Staraptor was close enough, he began setting up a Close Combat attack. Luckily for us though, he didn't get to release it. A purple aura surrounded the large bird, picking him up and leaving him immobile. Seeing this, his flunkies charged at us, their beaks glowing.

--

**A/N:**** Did ya guys like it?! I'll give a cyber cookie to whoever guesses who is restraining Scar first! XD Lol, sorry this chapter took so long to get up, I had some minor writer's block. It's gone now. Pixii happy. :D Anyways, this chapter's Fun Fact is on… Pudge! Whee!!:**

**He came from a messed up family. How was it messed up you ask? That's easy! His dad was a murderer, his mom was a cheating bitch, and his brother started a gang! :D Fed up with all the drama and such that came with living in this family, he left. He met a Staravia and a Taillow sometime down the line after leaving. He is now the easily pissed off little Pidgey you see before you today. The End. No seriously, the end. LEAVE.**

**XD Review, if you would be so kind!**

**Pixii out.**


	16. Chapter 15

**A/N:**** Tnt guy gets a cyber cookie! Hoorays! XD I think it's sweet an' stuff that Synth would have protected Pixii if he had to, don't you? Thanks for the info you guys gave about the moves and levels for each, sorry I didn't thank you sooner, it slipped my mind! 0.0' EkaSwede gave me a very long, very informative review, chock full of constructive criticism, for which I am thankful. Lol, I loved writing this chapter, simply because Team Whirlwind got their ASSES kicked! XD Teh Auditor likes making people mad, and eating dogs! D: DAMN YOU DOG EATER!! Lol, he also got a new computer, let us all give him a round of applause for PM'ing me with that wonderful info at 11 p.m. XD You guys are giving me an ego boost with all the praise I'm getting! We're also getting really close to 100 reviews! I love you guys! X3 I'm **_**still**_** baffling my wonderful fans with my update time! :D Alright, enough bragging an' stuff! Back to PMD:TT! The next Fun Fact shall be at the bottom of the chapter. :D**

**--**

His flunkies were stopped almost immediately by a Bullet Seed attack, hitting each of their wings and leaving them immobile like their leader. I heard rustling from the bushes, and my head snapped in that direction. A Charizard stepped out, looking angry. He came to stand in front of us, and I looked up in awe of my final evolutionary form. He took on a superior position as a Swampert, Breloom, and Metagross came out of the shadows and surrounding foliage. The Breloom stared hatefully at the flunkies, and the Metagross was still focusing on using Psychic to keep the Staraptor immobile in the air. The Swampert moved his arms in an odd motion, and ocean water mixed with sand rose up from the beach below and collided with the three birds, sending them to the beach below with amazing power. Synth and I stared up at the powerful fully evolved Pokemon in front of us, wide-eyed.

"You kids okay?" the Swampert asked. We both nodded, still speechless after their show of power. They laughed at our dumbfounded expressions, then motioned for us to follow.

We walked back to the Guild in silence, no one knowing what to say. The only sounds that could be heard as we walked were Kriketot in in the distance, and the bottoms of our feet as we walked upon the dirt road. Our faces were illuminated by the warm glow given off by my tail flame, and the blazing beacon given off by the Charizard's. We were soon back at the Guild, on the bottom floor.

"Draco, Bog, Crush, Brell!! You came!!" Was heard throughout the entire Guild as Wigglytuff sped out of his room and gave the large dragon a hug. The size difference was comical, and I had to stifle a laugh as the Charizard scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. The rest of his team however, erupted with laughter as he tried to break Wigglytuff's strong hold on him.

"Guild master?" I managed to get out through my fit of giggles. Our very affectionate leader looked up from his hug, then let go immediately.

"Oh silly me! I need to give the rest of you hugs!" He exclaimed, then embraced the Swampert. He stayed there momentarily, then went to the large Metagross. The colossal Pokemon actually hugged back!! The last Guild master embraced was the Breloom, whom acted as if a large pink blob _wasn't_ hugging him. When Wigglytuff pulled away, he looked to Synth and I. "Do you guys know my friends?" He asked excitedly.

"We only met them briefly." I said through my still-strong fit of giggles.

"How?!" The Guild master said excitedly. This time the Swampert spoke up.

"They were being harassed by some bird Pokemon." he said. Wigglytuff's eyes widened.

"Was it a Staraptor that was leading them?" he asked hurriedly. The team nodded. Wigglytuff puffed himself up, obviously angry. "Beat them to a pulp!! Then report them to the authorities!!" He bellowed, even the mighty Charizard shrinking back.

"Why?" the Swampert asked. Wigglytuff pointed in my direction, hate burning in his eyes.

"SHE WAS HOSPITALIZED BECAUSE OF THOSE MEANIES!!" He roared. I shrunk back even more, and crept behind Synth. The large Pokemon looked at me incredulously, obviously not expecting that type of news. I waved at them meekly, still using Synth as a shield. He turned to look at me with amusement in his eyes. The intimidating Pokemon soon turned back to Wigglytuff, determination embedded in their eyes. All signs of anger and seriousness soon left Wigglytuff's being, replaced with excitement. "Oh, I missed you Team Matrix!!" He exclaimed. They smiled at him. We were soon called for dinner, so we cut the conversation short.

--

At dinner the table was set much like it had been for our first meal at the Guild. We took our usual seats, awaiting the arrival of our friends.

"Who're they?" Lily asked as she and Chris sat down.

"I'm sure Wigglytuff will tell us soon." I said with a smile. Brooklyn and Olive soon sat down, asking the same question, and getting the same answer.

"WOW!!" Malcolm yelled as he and Carrie joined us.

"What?" I asked, a smirk plastered on my face.

"I'm gonna be cool when I'm fully evolved!!" He exclaimed, earning a peck on the head from Carrie. Our small group erupted in laughter as Malcolm rubbed the top of his head.

"That's the same reaction I had when I saw that Charizard." I commented after I had sobered. Soon everyone had gathered, and Wigglytuff began speaking.

"I'm sure you've all seen our new guests by now?" He asked. There was a mixture of 'yea's and 'uh-huh's as he continued. "This is Team Matrix, some Pokemon that left the Guild some time ago. This feast is in their honor, so let's give a round of applause!!" He yelled, the room erupting in cheers.

The rest of dinner was spent stuffing ourselves with as much of the delicious food as we could get, and _a lot_ of pecks on the head for Malcolm as he continuously tried to juggle, or harassed the Swampert. Once dinner was done, we all retired to our rooms, exhausted from the day's events, and the festive dinner we had just finished.

--

**A/N:**** So how was it? X3 I personally hate how short it was, but can you blame me? XD I was writing about a few hours here! Anyways, my awesomely awesome cousins are coming all the way from Florida! :3 I happy. XD Okay, I'll give you guys the Fun Fact now! It's on a certain little Starly we all know and hate!**

**His parents abandoned him soon after he was born, for he was a love child. X3 After surviving off of unsuspecting Wurmple and Caterpie for about a week, a Noctowl found him. The large bird took him in, and raised him until he was about 10. Scar was fed up with having to eat Ratatta and sleep during the day, so he left his guardian. He trained vigorously after leaving him, and as a result, evolved. He met a Taillow soon after, and started an Exploration Team, wanting to gain wealth and fame by doing so. You all know the rest.**

**Back to me!! X3 His past isn't as tragic as most of the other Pokemon, is it? :P He left for a stupid reason if you ask me! :D Enough of me ranting, you guys all know what to do!**

**Pixii out.**


	17. Chapter 16

**A/N:**** Thanks so much for all the reviews guys!! :D Teh Auditor wants Team Whirlwind to die!! XD I may hate them, but they are some of my little babies! I created them… so yeah… ANYWAYS! I pleased the wonderful creator of Team Matrix with how they came out, so I am happy. Crush is the only one that hugged Wiggly back! D: I woulda hugged back if I got to cuddle with Wiggly! Some of you guys asked about the Gengar mask… well… Wiggly is awesome like that! XD Uh… what else to say… Oh yeah!! I gained a few new fans last chapter! Hoorays! :D This chapter veered **_**waaaaaay**_** off course from my third/fourth rewrite of the plot, so I had to make a new one! XD Dominik called this li'l fic of mine perfect! AWW!! X3 Oh yeah, Jolt the Pikachu and BlueUndine16 have some awesome PMD stories, why don'tcha guys check them out while you're on ? They're as good (if not better) as PMD:TT! Anyways, the next Fun Fact is at the bottom of the page, yay! ;P**

**--**

When we went to Assembly that morning, Wigglytuff announced that Team Matrix was going to hunt Team Whirlwind down and bring them in for injuring me. I smiled warmly throughout the entire speech, because Wigglytuff was going through all this trouble for me. We were dismissed soon enough, so Synth and I checked the bulletin board, searching for someone to save. Someone cleared their throat behind us, so we spun around, coming face to beak with Charap.

"Wigglytuff wishes to see Team Twilight." he said flatly before flitting off. I looked at Synth questioningly, he only shrugged. We climbed down the ladder and made our way to the infamous entrance to Wigglytuff's quarters. With a huff, we opened the heavy doors, and entered the room.

"You wanted to see us…?" I asked nervously as I watched Wigglytuff jumping on a Snorlax cushion. He laughed.

"Hello friends!" he said between bounces. "Can you… wait… a minute?…" he asked before jumping off the cushion.

"Wait here." He said before scurrying off, then coming back with a rolled up sheet of paper. He unfurled it on the cushion, then motioned for us to come over. We each stood on either side of him, looking down at what I now realized was a map. Wigglytuff took out a marker from Arceus-knows-where and circled a symbol that looked like a waterfall.

"It's rumored that there is great treasure hidden somewhere inside this cave. I've had no time to search it for myself, so I need you two to look into it." he said, then handed us the map. I stuffed it in the Treasure Bag, then nodded obediently.

"We won't let you down." Synth said confidently, then turned. We walked out of the room, then made our way out of the Guild, eager to search the Waterfall.

--

"What do you think the treasure is?" I asked as I put my bow on. Synth shrugged.

"I don't know, it might be anything from gold, to fossils, to Perfect Apples." he said. I looked at him skeptically as he said the last option. He simply shrugged again, emitting a chuckle before explaining. "Knowing Wigglytuff and that odd obsession of his, I wouldn't eliminate the last option." I giggled. It was true, knowing Wigglytuff it might just be apples.

We continued to walk along the sleek rock clad road until we found a raging river. I rushed ahead, happy to finally see some sign that we were getting close. I stopped mid-step a little farther ahead as I stared in awe at the amazing waterfall before me.

The top was higher up than any Fir trees I'd ever seen, and the water rushed down the steep fall with ferocity. There was a rock raising out of the water, close to where the actual waterfall was.

"It's beautiful." I gasped as I looked at the view.

"Yeah…" Synth said from next to me. I turned my head, and he was looking directly at me.

"Let's go!" I giggled and ran closer to the waterfall. Synth chuckled a bit and followed. The roar of the rushing water became more noticeable as we got closer. Synth ran ahead suddenly, using his Quick Attack to go faster. When I finally caught up to him, I noticed that he was studying a narrow ledge that lead up to where the water rushed down the steep cliff.

"What is it?" I asked loudly, the water muffling my voice.

"There's a cave behind the waterfall." Synth replied confidently.

"You sure?" I asked. He nodded and got up on the ledge. "What are you doing?!" I exclaimed skeptically.

"It's the only way to get to the cave." He explained. "C'mon, let's go." He coaxed. Sighing, I climbed onto the slippery ledge. It was just large enough to support my feet. Looking ahead, I noticed that there was indeed, a small rock room behind the crashing water. Synth began to inch across, getting higher and higher before stopping.

"Come on!" He yelled. I nodded reluctantly and inched my way along even slower than Synth had. I was soon mere centimeters away from him, and we continued to make our way across.

--

Near the water, I made a dire mistake. I looked down.

I now noticed the sharp rocks at the bottom of the falls, and how high up we were. Gulping, I froze in place. We were only a few feet away from the room, and I had frozen up.

"What is it?" Synth asked worriedly when he noticed I was no longer moving.

"Th-the f-falls." I stuttered.

"we're so close, it's alright!" He yelled over the water. I shook my head furiously, my vision beginning to spin. "I won't let you fall, Pixii." He yelled back confidently. I felt strangely safe after he said this, and moved along again.

--

We were now in the rock room, the floor slippery and damp because of its location.

"Thank you." I said from beside Synth, hugging him quickly before looking more around the room.

"Y-you're welcome." He said from my side. I smiled warmly at him, then marched to the other side of the room. My tail flame now illuminated the rest of the room, and revealed a stone threshold, leading down to an even larger cave.

"Look!" I exclaimed. Synth rushed over from wherever he was.

"Should we?" He asked. I nodded, and we made our way down the dark steps.

--

**A/N:**** I'm so sorry for the long wait, my cousins are visiting, and I just got back from Florida! :D I love Synth, don't you? The scene on the ledge made me wanna go 'Aww!' I know I'm messed up, live with it! XD Oh, here's the next Fun Fact! It's on… Dun, dun, dun, DUUUUUN!! Lily from Team Magic!! :D**

**Lily was a daycare Pokemon, so she never knew her real mother or father. After fighting in battle after battle, and losing every time, her trainer released her into the wild. She had no survival skills, so it was very lucky that Chris' mother found her whist she was out gathering berries. She and Chris grew up together, and after hearing about a Guild looking for new recruits, jumped at the chance to train. Lily has grown dramatically since she was released by her trainer, and is a powerful Psychic type, even able to defeat Dark types with her powerful attacks. At the moment she is level 37.**

**I know what you're thinking. WHY SO HIGH LEVEL?! Ralts level up quicker than Treecko and Charmander, I know from experience. In this fic, Pokemon don't evolve until they choose. This doesn't mean an Eevee can choose to be a Flareon as soon as it hatches, because they still need to fulfill the requirements. You guys know what to do! Review!**

**Pixii out.**


	18. Chapter 17

**A/N: Oh my Carlisle! (Sorry, gotta stop reading Breaking Dawn before I write these… :'D) We reached 100 reviews last chapter!! I didn't think that my li'l fic would ever get this far, and I want to thanks everyone that's reviewed, from new TT fans, to the guys that were there since Chapter 1! X3 You guys don't know how much this means to me! XD Special congrats to BlueUndine16 and TNT guy for being my first reviewers, and to Teh Auditor for giving us the 100TH review! A lot of you commented on the length of the last chapter, and I'm sorry that it's so short, but like TNT guy said, it'll make the exploration itself less broken up. On another note, we've almost reached 2000 hits! :D You guys are amazing! :3 Oh yeah, my grandma's in really bad pain right now, so I've been back and forth at her hospital in Florida non-stop. I'm afraid that she might not make it… TI'll be updating less frequently than usual for a while, just 'cause of the stress in my life at the moment. The next Fun Fact is at the bottom of this chapter. :D**

--

We entered the dungeon, looking around our surroundings. We had entered a large, damp room. It was empty except for a Pecha berry, and a sleeping Barboach. We made our way out of the room carefully, trying to avoid waking the small catfish-like creature. Once we were safely inside one of the many damp corridors branching out of the room, Synth took the lead.

"Where do you think we should look first?" I asked as we walked through the corridor.

"We should probably look for a wall or part of the ground that looks different than the rest of the area…" he said thoughtfully as we walked.

--

We searched the first floor as thoroughly as we could, but we only found a few apples, a Reviver Seed, and a Max Elixir. It had probably been around two hours that we searched the floor for. We battled a few water-types, which was difficult for me, but Synth usually took them out quickly with an Absorb. We made it to the stairs soon enough, only to be stopped by a Surskit.

"Get out!" he yelled at us, then created a powerful array of Bubbles, which he aimed directly at me. I dodged it easily, as he was about five feet away, but it was a strong attack that I would have to watch out for.

"We're not here to hurt you." Synth said calmly. The Surskit wouldn't accept any soothing, and Synth and I both knew that. Reluctantly, we both got into fighting positions. The small spider-like Pokemon charged forward, using a Quick Attack. I charged up my Ember, waiting for when he was close enough to get a direct hit. He did something unexpected though, stopping abruptly, he released a Bubble attack at me. I didn't have enough time to dodge, so I unleashed my Ember.

Fire battled water, and we were left with a thick veil of steam around us. The cloud dissipated quickly, and out burst Synth, using his Quick Attack on the small water-type. He was pushed back when Synth rammed into him, but hopped quickly back to his feet. Enraged, the small spider-like Pokemon used Water Sport, drenching the entire room in the process, and weakening my fire attacks. I winced a bit as a few drops hit my tail, but shook it off and charged at the Surskit. He was able to dodge, but he didn't notice that Synth was right next to him when he leapt out of the way. He used Absorb, knocking out the small Pokemon. We walked toward the now drenched stairs and made our way up.

--

We entered a small room, dimly lit by my tail. There were a Blast Seed and an Oran berry on the ground, but we ignored them, as our bag was already full. I shrugged it over to my other shoulder, giving my right one a break from the heavy load.

"I can carry it for a while if you want?" Synth offered. I shook my head, smiling.

"I'm good, besides, you're better with speed attacks. The bag will only slow you down." I shrugged, following Synth into a corridor to our left. A Poliwag blocked our way then, and due to the narrow hallway I couldn't attack. The small blue tadpole used Water Gun, effectively drenching Synth in cold water. He shivered subtly from the cool water, then used Pound. The Poliwag was knocked down, but hopped to its feet quickly. It used Bubble then, which added to the water that drenched Synth. He glowered angrily at the small water-type before using Absorb, effectively knocking it out.

"You okay?" I asked as we began walking again.

"Fine, thanks." He said, then quickened his pace. I followed dutifully behind.

--

We searched this floor as thoroughly as the first, but once again didn't find anything much. Only a few Blast Seeds and some Blue Gummies. We were famished from all the time and energy we had exerted in this cave, so we stopped in a large rock room near the stairs and sat down.

"Do you want anything to eat?" I asked absentmindedly as I fished through the Treasure Bag for a Red Gummi or an apple. When I didn't get an answer immediately, I looked up from the bag. I was sure I saw Synth's eyes on me for a fraction of a second, but shrugged it off as my eyes playing tricks on me.

"Um… an apple would be fine." he stuttered.

"Okay." I nodded and continued to look through the Treasure Bag for some food.

--

We finished eating soon after, and went up the stairs. We were now in a larger room, the only other signs of life were a Psyduck and a Tangela. The duck-like Pokemon was sleeping blissfully, while the grass-type glared at us threateningly.

We tried to avoid it, but when we began moving toward the hallway, the Tangela charged at us. He launched two of the many vines he had at Synth because he was closer, effectively trapping him in his Constrict attack. I used Ember on the vines, making Tangela shriek in pain and surprise, then release his hold. Synth dropped to the ground, landing nimbly on his feet before using Quick Attack to take the Tangela out. I smiled at him before we continued on.

--

We once again searched the floor thoroughly, but to no avail. We'd encountered quite a few more Pokemon, each not going down without a fight. We only found a Sitrus berry and another Blue Gummi before going to the next floor.

When we got to the next floor we were in for a surprise. There was a large red blanket set out, items strewn without it. The items and blanket seemed to be owned by a Kecleon. When he noticed us staring at the make-shift store set up, he walked over, an expectant smile on his green face.

"Welcome customers! See anything you like?" he asked, gesturing with a paw to the items on the blanket. There were three Reviver Seeds, a Red Gummi, a Special Band, and a Max Elixir.

"No thank you." I smiled politely at the chameleon Pokemon. His smile faltered a bit at the rejection, but he persevered.

"Surely a beautiful lady such as yourself knows the importance of these rare items….?" he smiled, holding up a Reviver Seed for emphasis. I shook my head.

"Really, we're fine." I said again, trying to avoid another offer as I slowly inched my way toward the closest corridor.

"Miss I'm sure you'll l-" He was cut off by Synth.

"She. Said. We. Were. Fine." He said with forced calmness. The Kecleon backed off at this. _Smart move…_

--

We moved throughout the floor, but still didn't find anything of interest, or any signs of the treasure that was rumored to be at this waterfall. I started wondering if this rumor was even based on anything factual. When I voiced my concerns to Synth, he just laughed. When I gave him a stern look, he started to talk.

"That's the main reason for Exploration Teams. Going to unexplored places and unveiling the truth. Even though it's true that we don't know if the treasure's real, maybe we're just not on the right floor." He explained optimistically. I shrugged.

"As long as we get outta here alive, I'm good." I said indifferently.

"The Pokemon in here aren't exactly Legendary material. I'm sure we'll live to go on another day." he chuckled, smiling as we went on. When we got to the next room, there was a sleeping Grimer, sending a foul odor into the air. We avoided waking it by exiting the room immediately, but that didn't keep the stench away from us. I coughed a bit as we walked away from the foul-smelling room.

"You'd think a Pokemon that lives in a cave full of water-types would smell better." I complained as I waved as much clean air as I could into my face. Synth chuckled a bit, but sobered quickly and marched on.

--

We made it to the stairs maybe an hour later, after searching the floor with fruitless results. We entered a very small room when we got to the fourth floor, it was roughly the size of the Kecleon's blanket from the last floor. We didn't stay here for too long, because there was no reason to.

We made our way through the corridors, battling a Psyduck or Lotad every now and then. I noticed that it was getting increasingly harder to defeat the Pokemon, but we were still considerably stronger.

"Where do you think it might be hidden?…" Synth asked suddenly as we marched on.

"What?" I asked stupidly as I studied the walls and the ground beneath my feet for any signs of a difference. When I found none, I looked back up at Synth, waiting for an answer.

"The treasure… For all we know it might not even be real…" He said as we walked.

"Well we don't know until we search the entire cave." I offered as an answer as I continued to search. Synth was quiet then for a while, thinking things over again, I guess…

--

We made it to the fifth floor about an hour later. We'd only managed to find a Blast Seed and some very aggressive water-types. Quite unlucky, if you ask me. We came into a large room, with a family of catfish Pokemon in the middle. Two Whiscash and three Barboach. The three offspring were sleeping soundly in a pile, while their mother doted over them as they rested. A pang went through me momentarily as I remembered my own mother, but I suppressed the negative feelings when I noticed the father. He was staring at us angrily, for coming near his family, no doubt. It looked like he was going to charge at us, but I wasn't completely sure. I looked to Synth for guidance.

"What do we do?" I asked as I stared into the enraged eyes of the large dual-type.

"If it makes an advance, we fight. If it leaves us be, we leave the room." He said certainly as we waited for any change in the large fish's demeanor. His eyes suddenly glowed light blue, and he charged at us, or more specifically, Synth. I coughed out a small Smokescreen, making a black cloud that was difficult to see through. It was easy to see the flame on my tail, and the glowing blue eyes of our attacker, though. He came at Synth, but missed when he swiftly dodged.

I charged up my Ember for when he was viewable, but something was off. I felt the familiar warmth in my throat, but it felt… different. Not warmer, not cooler, but like a different type of fire was coming up. I didn't have time to assess it much before I blew out with more force than usual. It just felt instinctual to do so. The fire that came out was orange and red, like usual, but it also had faint traces of blue in the stream of flames. When they collided with the body of the Whiscash, a small explosion occurred. It left both the fish Pokemon, and me, momentarily dazed. Synth took the pause as an opportunity to leave without hurting the Pokemon further, so he grabbed me by the elbow and ran.

--

Once we were safely in another room, which was clear except for a few Geo Pebbles and a Chesto berry, he released his grip on me.

"You know Dragon Rage?" he asked curiously. I shrugged.

"Not until now." I smiled and walked into another corridor.

--

We made it to the next floor about two hours later, and my entire body was exhausted. My legs were screaming in protest, pounding more with each step I took. My arms were hard to lift up, and when I did, the muscles there burned. My shoulders were sore from switching the heavy Treasure Bag back and forth between them so much. My feet ached, and I was hungry.

"Can we rest for a bit?" I asked tiredly as we finally made it up the stairs. Synth looked back at me worriedly.

"You could've asked earlier." He said simply before sitting against one of the walls. I took this as a confirmation, and putting the bag down carefully, I slumped to the floor.

I don't know when I slipped into unconsciousness, but I knew I was dreaming when my body didn't burn and ache as it should have. In my dream, I was in a meadow, it was fenced by Oran berry bushes and Apple trees, creating a perfect sight. There were Leppa berry blossoms everywhere, the pink tint of the petals was a beautiful scene in the sunlight. I was in someone's arms, but I couldn't see the face of who. We'd each mumble loving words every now and then, the voice sounded familiar. I couldn't place where I'd heard it before, but I knew I'd definitely figure it out.

I was about to determine who'd voice it was when I was woken up.

"Pixii! Get up, I need help." I was shaken awake. I looked up sleepily into Synth's panicky golden eyes.

"What is it?" I asked tiredly, ignoring the urgency in his words and eyes.

"Get up!" He yelled before running in front of me, creating a blue barrier. It didn't protect Synth from the strength of whatever blow was dealt, but it inflicted the pain back on the attacker. I got to my feet, ignoring the protest of my arms and legs. I now noticed Synth was carrying the Treasure Bag.

"I'll take that." I said, gesturing to the bag. He shook his head and pointed to a Wooper, Tangela, Psyduck, and Grimer that were advancing toward us. "How come there are so many?!" I exclaimed as I dodged a Water Gun attack.

"I fell asleep about an hour after you did, and when I woke up they were there." He explained, using an Absorb to take out the Psyduck. Nodding, I used Ember on the Tangela, making the vine Pokemon flee. Now there were just a Wooper and Grimer. The foul stench penetrated the air again, making me cough a bit. I didn't realize that I coughed out a weak Smokescreen, making it risky to launch an attack.

"Yes!" I celebrated under my breath, then used my newly acquired Dragon Rage on the Grimer. It wasn't strong enough to withstand the attack, so it fainted. I looked to my side, and Synth had taken the Wooper out.

"Let's get moving again…" I said reluctantly, once again feeling the ache and burn of my joints and muscles.

"You look really bad though. Maybe you should eat an Oran berry." Synth said anxiously. I shrugged, wincing a bit as the burning intensified in my shoulders. Synth gave me an Oran berry, which I happily ate.

--

We got to the sixth floor mostly unharmed, but it'd gotten darker than usual, which meant we missed dinner. I scowled into the darkness ahead of me. I was thankful now more than ever for having a tail flame.

"It's dark." I sighed sadly. The only sounds were the occasional dripping of water from the top of the cave, and our footfalls as we continued on.

"Most other Pokemon are going to sleep for the night. We'll make it through quicker now." Synth stated thoughtfully as we moved on.

--

Like Synth had said, we made it through much quicker, without incident, to be specific. On the seventh floor things went smoothly. The only bad thing about it was that I triggered a Chesnut Trap, making around ten of the spiky nuts crash down on me. We made it through okay, but I was sour toward Synth for a while, upset that I had been stupid enough to trigger so simple a trap.

--

We made it to the eighth floor, where we decided to rest again. I sighed in relief as I sat down, rubbing my tired feet.

"Maybe we should rest for the night?" I suggested hopefully. Synth yawned, then nodded and leaned back against one of the rock walls. I positioned myself as comfortably as I could on the ground, using the Treasure Bag as a pillow. I sighed contently as I fell back into the dream I had been experiencing earlier.

I was about to look up into the face of my companion when I was woken up. I growled tiredly and turned over, hiding my face in my arms.

"Pixii, get up!" Synth whispered impatiently. I sighed angrily and lifted my head.

"What?" I snapped. Synth simply rolled his eyes and pointed towards the wall. I followed the direction and was instantly alert.

The wall in front of us looked much different than the rest of the cave. It was a darker shade of gray, for one thing. For another, it looked as if it were manually sealed, keeping intruders away from whatever was behind this obstacle. I hopped to my feet.

"Oh my Arceus!" I gasped. Synth smiled softly.

"Let's try to break through it." he suggested. I nodded, determination beginning to take control of me. I inhaled deeply, preparing to use an Ember attack. Synth took about ten Blast Seeds out of the Treasure Bag.

I released Ember after Ember, occasionally using Dragon Rage as Synth threw Blast Seeds. The seal wouldn't break easily, we could both see that. We continued to use our attacks and items, making little progress. I huffed out angrily, and used another Dragon Rage, putting all I had left in me into the attack. Synth used the last Blast Seed we had, and with a loud crack, the seal broke.

--

**A/N:**** How was this wonderfully long chapter? :D I loved the dream! X3 Even if you guys **_**can**_** guess who her lover is, because it's predictable, you and I know you loved it too! XD I'll be unable to update for a week or so, I'm sorry. ): My mom grounded me for talking back to her or something… I dunno, I forget. :D I'll be forgiven soon enough, but she'll keep to the punishment. We're all under a lotta stress lately. I hope this super long (8 pages!) update can hold you off for a bit. Once again, I'm super sorry. ): As for the Fun Fact, it's on… Dun, Dun, Dun, Duuun! Bob the Bidoof! XD (I ish making my own past for him, no matter what it really is!!)**

**He grew up in a large family, with twelve siblings to be exact. He was youngest out of all of them, and as a result was never really acknowledged. Because of this, he got the determination to make something of himself. This is why he joined the Guild. He was unaware he needed a partner, so when he didn't have one, Wigglytuff and Charap decided that he would be a fill-in. That is, he would join Exploration Teams temporarily on Expeditions.**

**There you have it! :D Review and tell me what you think! (And pray for my Grandma, and me, because being grounded is boring! D)**

**Pixii out!**


	19. Chapter 18

**A/N:**** Hey everyone! Sorry for the long wait with some of my recent updates. I'm not gonna say who, but **_**somepeople **_**sent ****me PM's and Emails asking me to hurry up and get un-grounded! XD As some of you already know, my grandma is out of the Hospital and the surgery was a success! Thanks so much for all the support everyone! Team Twilight appeared in Jolt The Pikachu's PMD fic! :D Yayness! XP I Beta'd Chapter 4 of the story btw. ;) Dusk (a character from a story I will begin after PMD:TT is finished) has been made a permenant character in PMD:TDA! :D Guess what?! I have a new Poll on my Profile, why don'tcha guys check it out and vote? ;P Back to TT!! The next Fun Fact ish at the bottom of the chapter! ;D**

**--**

Coughing slightly as dust and sand swirled in the air around us, I stepped back. Rocks and parts of the seal were still crashing down, making loud thundering noises as they hit the floor. The small rock slide only lasted a few moments more before calming. The dirt still swarmed around us as we looked into the newly opened passageway. I coughed again and stepped back even more.

"Should we go in?" Synth asked from behind.

"Of course we should! Why else would we waste all our Blast Seeds on a wall?" I asked. Synth shrugged a bit before taking the Treasure Bag off his shoulders. I looked at him questioningly, waiting for an explanation. When he noticed my staring, he quickly began to speak. "I found a Luminous Orb while you were asleep. I'm just trying to find it..." he trailed off as he began fishing through the Treasure Bag. Moments later he came up with a large metallic blue orb.

"What's it do?" I questioned.

"It'll make it easier to see in here. Just cover your eyes when I say so." Synth instructed. He put the Treasure Bag back on his shoulders before instructing for me to close my eyes. Complying with the request, I heard a small _ping_ before the atmosphere felt different. I opened my eyes and noticed that there wasn't any dirt or dust in the air anymore, and the entire floor was as brightly lit as the Guild was. Looking down the new corridor, I noticed a bright rainbow of sorts being displayed at the end in a small room.

"Look!" I exclaimed, pointing at the phenomenon. Synth smiled.

"Let's go check it out. The Luminous Orb will only light it up for us for about ten minutes." Synth said and began walking up to the rubble blocking our path.

"Okay." I agreed.

--

We were both soon over the piles of rock that had only moments before concealed the corridor we were in now. Synth and I made it to the small room moments later, and I discovered the source of the rainbows. Gasping, I looked around the room at all of the gems that were refracting light on the walls. There were rubies, emeralds, sapphires, diamonds, and any other precious stones you could think of jutting out of the walls and floor of the room.

"Oh Arceus, look at all of them!" I exclaimed breathlessly as I gazed absentmindedly at the gems.

"They're definitly valuable..." Synth commented as he inspected a diamond that was close to him. I looked to my side and noticed a ruby in the shape of a heart. Smiling, I plucked it off the wall easily.

"They come off so easily..." I said, slightly shocked.

"They should. The water and normal moisture of the cave has made the thinner parts of the gems weak. Should we take some home?" He asked as he inspected another gemstone.

"Yeah! Just around five or six of each type of stone though." I limited. We soon began plucking the gems off the walls.

--

We now had over fifty stones in our Treasure Bag because of the many gems we could find here.

"We should leave now." I suggested as I reajusted the Bag for around the millionth time.

"You didn't have to take the Treasure Bag back Pixii. You're always carrying it... It must get heavy..." he muttered as he unpinned the Exploration Badge, holding up and pressing the tiny button.

In a flash of light, we were back at the Bulletin Board. Malcolm and Carrie, whom were standing near by, rushed over at the sight of us.

"Where were you guys?!" Malcolm exclaimed, which earned a peck on the head from his Sinnoh counterpart.

"Shush! Give them some time to breathe before you go shooting questions at them!" Carrie reprimanded as Malcolm rubbed the top of his head. I giggled before commenting.

"It's fine, Carrie. What do you mean 'where were we', though?" I asked. Both of the water-types got stunned looks on their faces.

"What do you mean?! You guys were gone for two days!" Malcolm exclaimed. Carrie was still too shocked to reprimand him.

"Really?" I asked incredulously. They both nodded vigorously. "Oh..." I muttered.

"If we show you why we were gone will you stop acting like we were gone for years?" Synth offered from beside me.

"...Okay..." they accepted in unison. Synth took this time to take out a garnet stone from the buldging Treasure Bag. The orange-brown stone shimmered in the light given off by the lamps around us as the two Pokemon's eyes got wide. I giggled at their dumbstruck expressions.

"Where'd you get THAT?!" Malcolm exclaimed again. Carrie nodded along with the question, making no move whatsoever to peck his head. Shrugging, I answered.

"Waterfall Cave has some pretty awesome stuff when you look hard enough." I said simply. "We should go show Wigglytuff..." I muttered to Synth, whom nodded. We began walking toward the ladder when Wigglytuff came up it himself.

"Hi Guildmaster!" I greeted enthusiastically. The large pink blob spun around to face us, complete joy on his face.

"YOU'RE BACK!!" he exclaimed. We nodded, and were both engulfed in hugs.

"Um... Guildmaster, we found something valuable when we were at the Waterfall..." I muttered awkwardly from inside the embrace. Wigglytuff's hold immediatly loosened, and he stepped back.

"You did?! Well come with me to my room!!" He exclaimed before climbing back down the ladder. Shrugging, we followed.

--

We were now situated in the Guildmaster's large room, sitting on cushions at a table that had been brought in from Arceus-knows-where.

"So, what is it you needed to show me?" Wigglytuff asked curiously, eyeing our Treasure Bag.

"When you asked us to search Waterfall Cave we found a secret chamber on the last floor... Inside of the chamber were these..." I said, fishing out one of each type of gem and putting them on the table. Wigglytuff's eyes got wide as he gazed upon the many valuable stones.

"They'd go for alot of money... I could buy so many Perefect Apples..." he mumbled to himself before looking up at us. "Wonderful job friends!!" he exclaimed before ushering us out of the room and slamming the large doors.

"...Okaaay..." I mumbled under my breath as we walked back to our room.

"What do we do with the rest of these?" Synth asked from my side.

"We can give them to Wigglytuff after dinner or something..." I said absentmindedly as I fiddled with my bow. We arrived at our room moments later, but before we could close the door Carrie, Brooklyn, Olive, and Lily ran into the room.

"Can we help you...?" Synth asked, confusion lacing his voice and expression. The girls got very large, very creepy, smiles on their faces.

"Can we talk to Pixii alone?" they all recited in unison. _Did I mention this was creepy?_ When I gave him a pleading look, he only shrugged and left the room. Sighing, I plopped down on my bed and waited for whatever they had in store for me.

"What is it guys?" I asked tiredly, all of the excitement of the past days finally catching up with me.

"Carrie told us about your jewels! Can I have one?" Lily asked quickly. Giggling a bit, I reached into the still overflowing Treasure Bag and pulled out a sapphire.

"Here." I smiled and threw the gem toward her. A purple aura surrounded it, and it was guided toward the small psychic type in mid air before settling into her hands.

"Thank you!!" she exclaimed before running out of the room, clutching the deep blue jewel to her chest.

"I suppose you each want one too?" I asked in a bored tone before fishing out three more of the colorful gems, not looking carefully to determine who got what. They all left with wide smiles and a colorful jewel clutched close to their hearts. Synth soon came back in.

"Do I even wanna know?" he asked in a joking tone.

"It's not important." I said, shrugging. Suddenly high pitched squeals could be heard from outside, muffled by the thick door. Synth came over and elbowed me in the side. I giggled slightly, and Synth got a confused look in his eye. "Ticklish." I admitted, embarrassed. His confusion was replaced with a mischivious glint.

"...You are?" he said slyly. I nodded reluctantly, only to be knocked to the ground by my partner.

"Um...?" I muttered cautiously, looking up into Synth's golden eyes. He began to tickle my sides relentlessly, chuckling quietly as my frame wracked with laughter. "Synth... stop... it!!" I managed to get out between laughs. He only laughed at my desperate plea for mercy and continued with the torture. It continued on like this for several minutes before we both lay back on the floor, chuckling slightly at the time we had just spent together. I closed my eyes as my breathing went back to normal. Then Synth said something under his breath that he probably thought I couldn't hear.

My eyes snapped open.

--

**A/N:**** The first update in a week and it's a cliffy! I evil! X3 So, what do you guys think of the chapter? I'll be on a plane tomorrow, so be happy you got this update when you did! :D I want to come back to my computer and see that my Inbox is filled with many, MANY, reviews from everyone. (AND a new chapter to Beta from you, Jolt! XD) Here's our Fun Fact. It's on... Olive the Oddish!**

**Her mother is a Bellossom, and her father a Vileplume. She grew up in a very sheltered lifestyle, therefore can be snobbish when she wants. After being attacked and almost caught by a Trainer, she decided that she wasn't strong enough to take care of herself. She later met Brooklyn and was told of Wigglytuff's Guild. Together the two Kanto Pokemon traveled to Treasure Town, and are now Team FlamePetal.**

**Don't forget to review, my lovelies! ;3**

**Pixii out.**


	20. Chapter 19

**A/N: This one was fun to write! It was mushy though, :D. I loved all the reviews last chapter, thanks so much for them. (We're almost up to 150 reviews!! XD) As for if I recognize the name Thatcher... I'm sorry, but the name doesn't ring a bell. D: I not only have a poll now, but also a Forum!! (Le Gasp!) Lol, it's an RP! Why don't all you PMD:TT readers check it out after you read this chappie? :D As for other news, I missed my flight. D: I'm really happy though, 'cause I get a whole 'nother week out here! :D The next fun fact is at the bottom of the chapter! I'm going to an Amusement Park tomorrow with my cousins!! Hooray!**

**--**

"...I love you..." he sighed quietly enough that I thought I was just imagining things. Snapping my head to the side, I gazed at Synth's peaceful expression.

"What?..." I whispered louder than he had. His own eyes opened, and his peaceful mood was now destroyed, leaving only panick.

"Uh... I-I... I um... need to go!" he finished lamely before jumping to his feet and sprinting out of our room faster than I'd ever witnessed. I sat there, dumbfounded, for a few moments more before my senses caught up with me. I gasped at everything that had just happened. Standing up so that I could get off of the uncomfortable floor, I fell back onto my bed. Questions swirled around in my head as I thought everything over.

_How did I not see it before? Synth is in love with me... Why does the thought of that make my heart speed up?_ These and many more pestered me as I tried to think through this. I thought about how safe I felt with him, and how easily we understood each other. I thought about how when he was in pain, I felt as if I was too. I thought about the need I felt to take care of him, and how protective I could get if he were in danger.

I gasped slightly as a sharp pain hit my heart. I had been thinking about if Synth were to be gone from the world. And last of all, I thought about the question I must have been rejecting for some time now. The question I had already had a subconcious answer for all along.

--

I tore my way out of the Guild, not caring about the curious glances I got from other members as I looked for him. When he was no where to be found, I rushed through town, looking as thoroughly as I could for him. When this also held fruitless, I went to Sharpedo Bluff. The cliff was empty, sadly, but I hadn't checked the cave beneath. Holding onto a shred of hope, I entered the small cavern, only to be met with solitude. I sighed dejectedly and tried to think of anywhere else he could possibly be. I trudged over to the large window-like hole and looked down at the beach.

My entire being was suddenly brightened as I saw what was below. Synth was sitting on the beach, much like the first day we had met. Ignoring the protest I was beginning to get from my tired feet, I put the bush back before running through town, reaching the edge of the beach. My body became unresponsive again, like the last time I had been here. I tried with all my might to overcome the frozen state I was in, but it was difficult.

I slowly regained control over my senses, only because I was looking at Synth as he sat dejectedly on the sand. At first, I was only able to form coherent thoughts, then I began getting back my body. It was only subtle twitches of my fingers at first, but soon I had taken back total control.

Taking a deep breath for what I was about to do, I forced myself to step forward. Like the first day on the beach, Synth's head snapped in my direction. Looking carefully into his beautiful golden eyes, I could now see what I had so carelessly overlooked before. Mixed in with the confusion and fear that was there now was an undertone of strong emotion. Emotion that I had seen before, but never truly looked at. Love.

"Hey." I said softly as I sat down next to him. He tore his gaze away from me and looked out toward the setting sun, acting as if I weren't there. The fear was definitly still there, but he was concealing it well. The emotions swirling around inside of me were becoming overwhelming after some time, so with a sigh I rested my head on his shoulder, craving some sort of contact between us. He stiffened at the sudden contact, which was understandable, but didn't protest.

"Synth..." I mumbled in a pleading voice. He looked at me from the corner of his eye. "Synth, what's wrong?" I asked softly. He now turned his head directly toward me, his beautiful golden gaze full of sadness. It broke my heart to see him like this. I wrapped my arms around his waist.

"I love you..." I whispered from this position. He stiffened even more at the confession, and was quiet for a minute or so.

"...You do?" he asked hesitantly. I hugged him tighter.

"Yes." I whispered. His arms now encircled my own waist tentatively.

"I love you, too." Synth whispered back. We sat on the beach for around an hour more, the sky now a beautiful dark blue, stars twinkling throughout. We were both contemplating this new _thing_. There was no other way to describe love.

When it was late enough that we surely missed dinner, we reluctantly got up from the sand and walked back home, to the Guild, hand in hand.

--

**A/N:**** Aww, that was definitly the MOST FUN CHAPTER EVER!! Like I said before, check out my new forum! Jolt the Pikachu and Teh Auditor are already members! :D And (hopefully) BlueUndine16 will be with us soon. This chapter was definitly mushy, and sorry for how short it was, but it is definitly my favorite. :) Okay, as for the fun fact, it's on... Charap!:**

**He was the second Pokemon to join Wigglytuff's Guild, but back then it was called Jigglypuff's Guild. He has been saved by Wigglytuff numorous times, and because of this will do whatever our favorite pink blob wants. He's not very high level, but can hold his own in battle pretty well.**

**Don't forget to check out my new RP, aqnd don't forget to review this very mushy chapter!**

**Pixii out!**


	21. Chapter 20

**A/N: Hey all of you people! We got over 150 reviews! Dominik gave us number 150, so let's all give him a round of applause! :D Omg, I leave for 3 days and I have over 70 emails from the site, did you guys miss me? x) I feel so special. We got some new fans! Welcome to the TT community! I have an RP going, and we'd like for some of you guys to join us! :D How cool would that be? XD I has a big plot twist a brewin' that I think shall stump ALL that challenge me!! (wink, wink) XD Lol, guess what?! Blue suggested a name for Pixii and Synth besides Friendshipping and Synthixii (I'm so creative...) It's called Hopeshipping! I love it, and it shall be used! ;) I'm already planning out a sequal, WITH THE NEXT GENERATION OF TT!! (That idea goes to Clinically Insane And Dangerous, btw) Or I might turn that into an RP, too... hmm... I gots me a poll idea!! XD My ear ache settled down, I got some nasty antiboitics that taste like bubblegum... IT'S A TRICK I TELL YA!! The aftertaste is YUCKY!! DX Lol, I'm done rambling, but this is gonna be a short chapter, sawwy. (About the plot twist, please don't kill me when it comes up, 'cause it's gonna be way worse than the Pixii and Scar incident... and let's just say you won't be seein' Synth for a li'l while...) Next Fun Fact is at the bottom!**

**--**

We recieved some strange glances as we walked home. Some of the female pokemon looked at us knowingly, some of the males looked at me longingly... That was a very unpleasant walk home, to say the least. On a happier note, none of the Guild pokemon were still up and out of their rooms, so we could hold off the _many_ questions that would inevitably ensue until tomorrow. After getting to our room, we went to our beds silently, only mouthing the now tangible phrase we had spoken so many times tonight, as if speaking it aloud would wake us up from this wonderful dream.

--

I woke up in the morning to the screeching of Red again, and apparently there was a special announcement. Blinking the sleepiness out of my eyes, I put my bow on and sat back down on my bed. I'd definitely have to stop staying up so late if I expected to have enough energy in the morning...

"You ready?" Synth asked from behind, taking my hand.

"Yeah..." I sighed tiredly, grabbing the Treasure Bag and resting my head on Synth's shoulder.

"Love you." he whispered to me before we left our room.

"You too." I replied. All of the other Teams were assembled when we arrived, so there was no way for any of the Teams to ask questions, though the looks I was getting from Lily and Team FlamePetal made me think I would be in for some torturing... Wigglytuff came in soon after, thank Arceus...

"Good morning friendly friends!" he exclaimed. After the usual cheering was over he cleared his throat. "Very important announcement, friends!! We'll be going on a Guild Expedition soon! We'll be searching Blizzard Island, so we'll need all of our fire-types to strengthen your attacks!" he explained, a large grin on his face. "To celebrate the announcement, I want you all the have the day off, but remember, you need to impress Charap and I to get chosen for the Expedition!" he yelled out before going back to his room. The large assembly soon dispersed, so Synth and I decided to stay in our room for a while.

--

When we were finally relaxing, which was actually me almost falling asleep as I sat with Synth in our room, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in..." I sighed lazily from my spot on the floor, leaning against the foot of Synth's bed. He had arm around my waist, and my head was resting on his chest. The door clicked open, and I didn't need to open my eyes to know who was there. I'd know any of the girlish squeals anywhere. With a groan I opened my eyes.

"Can we help you guys?" I asked as politely as I could. Brooklyn and Olive got evil glints in their eyes, while Lily's glowed a light blue. "Wha--" I started before being lifted from my _very_ comfortable spot with Synth telepathically, a purple aura surrounding me.

"Synth... yeah, we're borrowing Pixii for a while, so I hope you don't mind but... bye!" Olive said hurriedly before I was moved out of the room, my 'kidnappers' following closely behind.

--

I was now sitting in a chair in Team FlamePetal's room, the girls surrounding me with evil smiles on their faces. Well, except for Brooklyn, her's was more excited than anything... I contemplated making a run for it, but banished the idea almost as quickly as it had popped into my head. Lily would catch me, and if she didn't, Brooklyn would. I sighed sadly as the torturing began...

--

**A/N: It came out a lot shorter than I thought, for which I am sorry, but MS Word crashed on me when it was completely typed up... I was happy with the original, but this one made me unhappy with the way it ended, so I just left it off at what I think is a good point... The next Fun Fact (because it was requested by one of our avid TT fans) is on Brooklyn! :3**

**Originally Brooklyn is from Kanto, but when she was captured her trainer brought her to Hoenn for a short while. When released, she stayed in Hoenn for around a year. Within that year she met a Poochyena named Claw, with whom she fell in love with. When she had to go back to Kanto they promised themselves to each other, which means they are essensially mates. Brooklyn fully intends to return to Hoenn when her Guild training is over. At the moment she is level 24.**

**I decided that kind ol' Brooklyn needed a nice past. :) You guys are gonna love Claw, he's a hopeless romantic. x3 Don't forget to review, okay?**

**Pixii out!**


	22. Chapter 21

**A/N:**** Lol at some of the reviews, apparently some more of the female Guild members are scoring points with the fans. :D I'm gonna dedicate this chappie to all my wonderful reviewers! :D And let's all give a round of applause to all the Eevee in my RP for filling my inbox with over 100 messages! x) They are obviously having fun with the RP without me! ;P All the people in my forum already know this, but I was on a plane yesterday! I sat next to this really creepy fat guy that was gourging on those tiny packets of pretzels! He spewed crums and salt all over me when I asked him to chew with his mouth closed. DX I know you all want to laugh at my pain! :D The poll showed me just how much you guys love my writing, which really touches me. :) I'll be writing a sequel, and putting up a new poll tonight! The next fun fact is on... Dun, dun, dun, dun... um... I forgot... I'll decide at the bottom! Oh yeah! Check out Starting Over!! It's by HeathDTS, and is definitely worth checking out!**

**--**

I waited with wide eyes for my torture to begin. I only became more fearful when Olive began pacing in front of me.

"...Yes?" I asked hesitantly. Their smiles grew when I spoke. _They smell my fear... _A thought came to me just then, looking at the faces around me. "Where's Carrie?" I asked timidly. Their smiles shrunk a bit, but the evil glints never left their eyes.

"Babysitting Malcolm." they said in unison. I needed no more of an explanation.

"Is there a reason you kidnapped me...?" I asked curiously, the fear still showing through in my voice.

"We need... information..." Olive replied vaguely.

"Information?" Olive looked to both sides of her creepily before turning her head toward me.

"...Yes..." she smirked.

"What kind?"

"Relationship details." Olive chuckled darkly. "And don't even _try_ to leave anything out. We've have Lily read your mind! That, or we'll go to extreme measures..." she cackled. Olive, the usually snobby, yet sweet quiet girl, cackled. That was the first sign I was in mortal danger.

"...About what relationship?..." I asked stupidly. I recieved blank looks before Lily began talking.

"She's playing dumb." She grinned smugly. Olive became alive again, a livid expression painted across her dainty face.

"I _told_ you we'd go to extreme measures!" she roared. She then turned her gaze toward sweet, kind Brooklyn. "Brooklyn, would you be so kind as to get Carrie? It seems we'll need her for this operation too..." she mumbled, an evil glint in her onyx eyes.

"Isn't this a bit... _extreme_?" I commented. They only laughed in unisone before abruptly breaking off.

"Never... Not when it's this vital..." Olive replied darkly. I had to blink twice before I realized she was serious. I gulped audibly and closed my eyes, trying to expel the feel of their eyes on my face. The door creaked open, then shut a moment later.

"Now... before Brooklyn returns, we need to know something..." Lily said darkly.

"What is it...?" I asked wearily.

"Are you and Synth mates now?" Lily asked naively. I almost choked on air at not only the bluntness, but the total randomness of the question.

"M-mates?" I gulped. I heard laughter from around me.

"Yes!" Olive laughed. The door creaked open again, and all the laughter stopped.

"I brought Carrie!" Brooklyn's cheery voice rang out. I breathed a sigh of relief at the kindness in her tone.

"She doesn't know what they are." Lily recited from my thoughts when I failed to answer.

"What what are?" Carrie's voice sounded from a short distance away.

"Synth and her." Olive replied irritably.

"Well what do _YOU_ think we are, oh knowing one?!" I exclaimed angrily.

"Water Gun her." Olive said nonchalantly, before I felt the sting of cold water on my chest. I hissed in pain slightly before my eyes snapped open.

"What was that for?!" I exploded. Olive simply closed her eyes.

"You angered me." she answered. I huffed and slumped in my seat. I wasn't going to risk another Water Gun.

"Can we hurry this up? I have better places to be." I said irritably.

"Like back in Synth's arms." Lily recited _again_ from my thoughts.

"Aurgh!" I growled under my breath. "Just hurry up!" I exclaimed. Giggles could be heard from around me.

"Do you like Synth?" Olive giggled from my right.

"What kind of a stupid question is that?!" I yelled, the warmth of Ember spreading through my throat tauningly.

"Water Gun." she ordered. I felt the sting again, and hissed before answering.

"Yes. I like him. Happy?!" I struggled to keep the Ember attack from being released.

"No. Do you love him?" Carrie asked from my left. I struggled to keep the simple answer in, but if I didn't say it aloud, I would suffer another Water Gun.

"...Yes..." I choked out before being surrounded by giggling females and hugs.

_They're back to normal._ I celebrated weakly.

--

**A/N: Well, there you go! I decided to post the chapter early! :P I know what you're thinking, but YES. THIS IS EARLY. I have a new poll up, which doesn't really matter much, but I'ld like to know your answers! Okay, Fun Fact is on... Fang!! :D**

**He hasn't been introduced yet, but he plays a rather large role in Brooklyn's life... :P He's a big softie when you get to know him, but for fear of being double crossed, he won't show that side unless he can truly trust you. Not much is known about his past, but he'll definitely play a role in the future...**

**Don't forget to review, and check out ALL my friend's stories! :D**

**Pixii out!**


	23. Chapter 22

**A/N:**** Hello all! I'll try to get back up to the fast updates I used to give… only around a month ago… Isn't it amazing how much my writing has improved with the tips you guys give? I was just reading back for some inspiration, and I was all like, 'Oh my Carlisle! I'm so different!' and it's all thanks to you guys! Thank you! ;) Who do you guys think should be the next victi-- I mean… main character… in my series of one-shots? On special request from cloudykitty, whom is a very good friend of mine, I will have some awesomely awesome characters appear this chapter! Only one of them belongs to me, but I'll list all that disclaimer stuff at the bottom. (Not disclaimer for Pokemon, 'cause I obviously don't own it. I meant the characters I'll use this chappie.) As for some of the reviews from last chapter… they're girls… My older cousin actually had this done to her in RL, I was like Lily! :3 I have this weird thing I do… I can tell if you're lying based off of your body language. :D I just checked the review stats, and OMC!! We're SO CLOSE to 200 reviews! This is even more of a shocker than when we hit 100. I'm gonna say this right now, and that's that I could've never come this far without all of you! Um… 200****th**** reviewer gets… to submit a rescue team of two to remain at the Guild permanently! :D I've kinda run out of Fun Fact people to use, so there won't be one this chapter. You can make a suggestion in your reviews though, and don't forget to vote on my poll! :D**

**--**

The rest of the day was spent with Team FlamePetal, Lily, and Carrie. No matter how much I begged to be left alone they kept me. So the only way I could escape before midnight was yelling. The result? Not only was Team FlamePetal's door broken down, but Charap came in and banned us all from the up coming expedition. It's a shame, really, Brooklyn and I are some of the strongest fire-types the Guild has.

I don't mind much, because I'd probably just get frost bite anyway. That, and Synth hates the cold.

--

"Synth, I love you, but give me back the Treasure Bag." I requested for what felt like the millionth time. At the moment we were in Amp Plains, a vast field with tall yellow grass, and electric Pokemon galore. Our mission was to rescue a TM the Keckleon Brothers had lost in the deepest area.

"No." he sighed as we walked through the vast field, the stairs in sight.

"Why not?"

"What if I want to carry it for once?" he argued weakly. I sighed before answering.

"Who _wants_ to lug a twenty pound bag around all day?!" I countered.

"I might…" he continued.

"Synth, just because I love you doesn't mean I won't burn you to get that bag back." I huffed. He finally handed it back with a reluctant sigh.

"Thank you!" I chirped.

Suddenly a streak of blue flew passed us, a faint breeze following in its wake. I heard calling in the distance, and there were a lot of Pokemon, judging by the amount of voices. When they got close enough to make out what they were saying, it sounded as if they were saying the name **(A/N: DUN DUN DUUUUUUUN!!) **Will.

A few minutes later the Pokemon came into view, and it was none other than a pack of Eevee! The one in the lead had black fur instead of cream, and was obviously male. The one close behind him was normal for an Eevee, except she had a green orb around her neck. The two next to her were also different than normal Eevee. The one on her right had a rose wrapped around her neck, and the one on her left was… bluish, also obviously female. The one with a rose had a small Eevee kit riding atop her back, the ears were the only features I could see. Slightly behind the one with a rose was another male Eevee with grey fur instead of cream. Behind this small group were two more Eevee. One had darker fur than was per usual for an Eevee, and a blue scarf with a moon on it tied around her neck. The one on her side was larger than her, and had a strange blue crystal around his neck and a pouch around one of his legs. They were talking animatedly as the rest of them continued to call for 'Will'.

"Synth, do you see _that_?!" I exclaimed pointing toward the strange group of fox Pokemon.

"Yeah… wonder what they're doing…"

"Should we help?"

"We might as well. Besides, they look pretty powerful…" Synth agreed, looking toward the group of them. I nodded and we ran toward the pack. When they noticed us approaching they got into defensive positions, the one with grey fur leaping to the front. Synth and I stopped in our tracks, holding up our hands.

"We aren't gonna attack you!" Synth exclaimed, which made only one of the Eevee relax. It was the one with a green orb.

"Okay!" she said cheerily, stepping to the front of the group before turning around. "Guys, calm down! They won't hurt us. Maybe they can even help us look for Will!" she reasoned happily.

"Dusk it could be a trick." the Eevee with black fur said, stepping forward. The one with a green orb, Dusk, shook her head defiantly.

"And it also could not be. What if they _can_ help us? Are you gonna refuse help from them?"

"You always refuse help." the one with black fur muttered.

"No I don't. I refuse pity." she stated stubbornly. The one with black fur sighed and stepped forward more, subtly shielding Dusk from view.

"We're looking for our friend Will. He's blue like Megu," he said, gesturing to the bluish Eevee. "and he has these creepy powers… Um, mind reading, seeing the future, immortality, and super speed." he checked off. Something clicked in my head then.

"We saw a blue blur just a few minutes ago…" I offered. Everyone seemed to relax then, relieved smiles upon their faces.

"That's him!" the Eevee with a rose necklace exclaimed.

"It's rude not to give introductions! I'm Dusk." she greeted from behind the black furred Eevee.

"Seth." he stated.

"Hakumei." the one with grey fur announced cheerily.

"Megu, pleased to meet you…" the bluish female said quietly.

"Rose, and this is Cheri." the female with a flower around her neck said, looking at the back of Hakumei's head, a bit of sadness seeping into her expression. The tiny kit's head popped up from behind who I assumed was her mother and smiled.

"Hi!" she exclaimed happily. We waited a few moments longer for the last two to introduce themselves, but they only continued talking.

"Guys!" Seth exclaimed, making their heads snap away from the hushed whispers.

"What?" they replied in unison. The rest of the Eevee laughed at this.

"You guys need to introduce yourselves to… um…" Dusk fumbled.

"Pixii and Synth." I supplied. Dusk nodded cheerily.

"Moonfeather." the female smiled.

"My name's Verix. Hi!" he greeted happily.

--

We continued through the Amp Plains for a while, Synth and I never getting the chance to fight because of the Eevee. Synth had been right when he said they were powerful. We were now on floor 3.

"What made Will leave your group?" I asked as we walked.

"He said something about scouting ahead, made a comment on our intelligence, then ran off." Moonfeather replied in a bored tone.

"Does that happen a lot?" Synth questioned.

"Frequently." they all said in unison. I sighed as we continued on, readjusting the Treasure Bag again.

"Synth?" I asked slowly.

"Hm?"

"Can you carry the Treasure Bag for me?" I muttered quietly, but he still heard.

"Of course, Love." he chuckled, taking the bag from me. We hadn't seen many items laying around, so it was still the same weight as when we came in. Heads snapped in our direction, which was the back of the group, and they smiled before the kit spoke.

"Love?" she mimicked.

"… Are you guys mates?" Dusk asked bluntly.

"Why does EVERYONE ask that?!" I screamed. They all raised their eyebrows, except Synth, whom was frozen with wide-eyes and a very noticeable blush.

"He called you 'Love'. I'm sorry, I just assumed…" Dusk trailed off. I shook my head.

"It's fine…" I sighed before grabbing Synth's hand and towing him along.

--

We were now on the 9th floor, with no sign of their friend anywhere.

"Are you sure he didn't leave?" Synth asked. He'd gotten out of his trance a few floors down, but the blush was still a pink tint on his cheeks.

"Probably not. Most likely, he's at the end of this place, sitting comfortably, and smirking. Then when we get there he'll make fun of our 'slow' pace." Dusk explained.

"Oh…" I sighed.

"Hey look! The stairs!" Synth pointed toward them, blending in nicely with a rock in the background. We hurried up them.

When we got to the end of the stairs, we were in another field. This one was enclosed on most sides by high rocks, and thunderclouds hung threateningly in the sky above us.

"Something feels… off…" Moonfeather muttered, looking around the area cautiously.

"Yeah…" Megu replied quietly. We looked around the clearing, but nothing seemed wrong. That is, until a powerful voice that rivaled even Red's boomed out.

"GET OUT OF MY TERRITORY!" it roared, before in a flash of lightning, a Luxray and around fifteen Luxio appeared, surrounding us.

--

**A/N:**** What else can I say besides that was fun to write? :3 Okay, as promised, here is the disclaimer stuffs:**

**I only own Dusk. These are the rightful owners of all our wonderfully wonderful other Eevee!:**

**Moonfeather: Cloudykitty**

**Seth: Teh Auditor**

**Hakumei: Eternal Shining Pikmin**

**Rose: Human Pikachu**

**Megu: BlueUndine16**

**Will: Jolt the Pikachu**

**Cheri: Jolteon.Lover.Forever**

**Verix: Slazer**

**I love you all, and don't forget to review!**

**Pixii out!**


	24. Chapter 23

**A/N: What are all of you people doing here?! Oh yeah… checking to see if they made it… Whatever. :D You're gonna hate Author in like… next chapter… Yeah… just don't kill me and I'm good! :D Uh… I'm in love with the song 'My Immortal' at the moment! :3 Since no one gave me a person to use for fun facts last chapter, they're still inactive. Sorry guys! Uh… The Eevee group is from my RP, why don't you guys check it out and join when you're done here? :3 The chappie is dedicated to Auditor, Kitty, Pikky, Slazer (We need a nickname for you!), JLF, Jolt, Blue, and HP. I wuv you guys! x3**

**--**

Looking around at the new Pokemon around us, I mentally calculated our chances of winning. There were 10 of us, and around 16 of them… The Luxio didn't look that strong, but the Luxray would definitely be a challenge. We had a fifty/fifty chance.

"Get ready, guys!" Seth instructed from the front of the group, already in an offensive position. Hakumei jumped to the front again, next to Seth. Rose put Cheri down by the sidelines, keeping her out of harm's way. Moonfeather and Verix got into offensive positions, Verix taking out a deck of cards. Megu stood still, a weary expression lighting her features. Dusk looked reluctant, but got into a battling position all the same. Synth stood in front of me protectively.

"Synth, it won't kill me to take a few shocks…" I sighed. He simply shook his head and stood his ground. I huffed before getting ready to use Dragon Rage if necessary, which it probably would be…

"Fine. If you won't leave, we'll kill you!" the Luxray boomed, signaling for his underlings to attack.

**(This is a one-time thing, but because of the difficulty to describe all the battling while Pixii fights, we'll be using Third-Person Omniscient for the battle! This all happens at the same time, btw.)**

_**Third Person POV**_

Two of the Luxio leapt at Seth and Hakumei, static crackling off their fur. Seth used Shadow Ball on one of the Luxio, effectively knocking it back. Hakumei used Protect at the last possible moment, making the other Luxio knock back into the first, both releasing their Spark attacks on the other. Jumping up and shaking it off, they each charged at the pair, readying a Thunder Fang. Hakumei's fighting instincts were kicking in, and because of this he didn't get the Protect ready again, instead using Iron Tail, hitting the Luxio in the chest and knocking it out. Seth used Dig on his, also knocking it out.

Another four of the Luxio were headed for Megu, Rose, and Dusk, choosing to start with Thunder Fang. Dusk used Sand-Attack, halting the attack, and gaining some time as they tried to clear their vision.

"We don't want to fight you!" she pleaded.

"Then you shouldn't have come into our territory!" one of them yelled, and charged ahead blindly. He was headed strait for Megu, whom dodged easily. As a result, the Luxio hit a rock in back of the trio, stunning it momentarily. The other three had cleaned the sand out of their eyes, and were going to use a combined Spark attack on the females. Megu used Helping Hand on the other two, powering them up. Grudgingly, Dusk charged up a Shadow Ball, as Rose readied an Iron Tail. When the Luxio were close enough they released their attacks respectively, knocking out two of the four. The one that had hit the rock finally came-to, and charged for Megu, whom was closest. Thinking quickly, she used Hidden Power, making a Rock Slide bury the Luxio. The last Luxio looked upon the girls that had defeated his comrades, and enraged, used Thunder, hitting all three. Using the last of their energy, they all powered up attacks. Rose's was Iron Tail while the other two used Shadow Ball. The spheres of dark aura didn't knock out the Luxio, but weakened him considerably as Rose hit him in the torso, knocking him out.

Three others headed for Moonfeather and Verix. Moonfeather used Focus Blast on the one in the middle, making it trip and retain considerable damage. One of the two still running stopped in its tracks and used Thunderbolt, aiming for Moonfeather. Noticing this, she dug underground, avoiding it and setting up a trap. Verix used Trump Card, some of his Tarot Cards flying at blinding speeds toward the one that used Thunderbolt, effectively knocking it back. The one that was still running made it to where Verix was, and Moonfeather chose this time to use Dig, knocking it out. The remaining two were much weaker, and as a result were knocked out by the next Shadow Balls the two released in unison.

Two more were headed for Hakumei and Seth again. Hakumei, now in full battle mode, knocked one out easily with one Iron Tail, and Seth used Dig to knock out the other one.

Three headed toward Pixii and Synth, readying Spark and Thunder Fang attacks, they seemed to be a favorite among them.

"Synth, move!" Pixii instructed, already beginning to shoot a Dragon Rage. Synth complied this time, and all three of the Luxio were knocked back. Synth used Pursuit, readying a blue barrier. The Luxio chose to use Bite simultaneously this time, all taking damage from the attacks because of Pursuit, but Synth was extremely weakened because of the Bites. Pixii, enraged, used a powerful Ember attack, knocking one of the three out. Synth took this time to use Absorb on one of the remaining two, regaining some energy and being able to use Pound, knocking one out. There was only one left, and using both Scratch and Pound, it was knocked out.

Now only one Luxio and the Luxray were left. The Luxio marched dutifully into battle, but was knocked out before it even made it fully onto the battlefield by an array of Shadow Balls and Trump Cards from the Eevee.

"You will pay!" the Luxray roared after looking upon his fallen army. Panting heavily because of all the energy exerted, everyone took on offensive positions once more. He used Discharge, shocking all of the Eevee and Team Twilight. He was much more powerful than they had anticipated.

Hakumei once again was the first to attack. He used Iron Tail on the Luxray, only managing to knock him back a bit. Hakumei grunted in disappointment before using Dig, causing much more damage than before. He stood back, satisfied for the moment. Seth, Megu, Verix, Moonfeather, and Hakumei launched Shadow Balls, Dusk preferring to use Sand-Attack. Cheri, restless from sitting on the sidelines, used Hidden Power. This created a mildly strong Earthquake, affecting Pixii and Luxray the most. With the extra blow done to her, Pixii stumbled back and used Synth to lean on, whom wrapped his arm around her protectively. The others were only mildly shaken by it.

Luxray roared again and used a Thunder directed at Hakumei, because he seemed to be the biggest threat. Hakumei dodged with ease, however, because it was poorly aimed. Synth launched a Blast Seed from where he was, and fed Pixii an Oran Berry. Having enough energy to stand again, she launched an Ember, burning the Luxray's shoulder. Verix used his Agility to get closer to Luxray, then used a powerful Trump Card, knocking the Luxray to the ground.

He grunted and got to his feet, using Thunder on Dusk. She couldn't avoid it, so she took it head on, barely hanging on. The Eevee once again used Shadow Balls, Iron Tails, and Verix used Trump Card, making the Luxray incredibly weak, but the group was also extremely weak.

Luxray was about to use Discharge, which would've knocked out the entire group with how weak they were, when Will decided to show up.

"Miss me?" he laughed haughtily before using Hidden Power. Fissure was activated, and the ground beneath Luxray's feet opened up, making him fall down the deep hole that emerged.

_**Pixii POV (YAY!)**_

The other bluish Eevee (whom I assumed was Will)turned around after the attack, a triumphant smirk on his face.

"Why did you choose NOW to come?!" Seth yelled in his face.

"Because I finished scouting ahead." Will chuckled. Seth growled, but said no more.

"Thanks for all the help you guys, and we're glad you found your friend…" Someone scoffed at that, "but we need to find the TM we came in here to find…" I finished.

"This…?" Will smirked amusedly, holding up the disk.

"Mhm…" I nodded.

"It was up ahead… Take it…" he said in a bored tone, tossing the disk to us.

"Thanks… We need to go, do you want a way out?" I asked. They shook their heads before walking away. "Bye…" I said lamely before pressing the button to transport us to the Guild.

--

**A/N:**** Luxray battle!! :3 That was confusing… and boring… Not one of my better chapters, but whatever. Don't forget to review, and vote on my poll! :D**

**(And you better join my Forum, you layabouts!) Just kidding! X)**

**Pixii out!**


	25. Chapter 24

**A/N:**** Hi everyone! Guess what? WE REACHED 200 REVIEWS!! Sadly though, Rolfcakes L33tness (Teh Auditor) cannot receive the prize because he already has a team at the Guild. Sorry dude! XD OMC, thanks so much for all the support you guys've given me thus far! I'm pretty sure I owe you, but this definitely isn't the way to make it up to you… / At least Synth's not in the hospital with three fatal wounds like I wanted him to be! :D I was checkin' my stats while I wrote this, and I was all like, "OMC!!" when I saw how many hits there've been to my profile. I've got over a thousand… 0.0 There are over 5 thousand hits on TT though, so yeah… XD Um… If I can come up with a good Fun Fact by the end of this chapter I'll put it down below! **

**--**

"Synth… do you remember what the Eevee group said…?" I asked cautiously after we had gotten back to our room for the night. Synth immediately stiffened, his cheeks turning pink again.

"Y-yeah…" he mumbled almost incoherently. I sat down on my bed uncomfortably.

"What do you think of it…?" I asked quietly. This was awkward, anyone could see that, but it'd been bothering me since last night when Olive and the others asked about it.

"U-um… Can we talk about it… later?" he asked uncertainly.

"Synth…" I said sadly, pleading with my eyes for him to answer. He sighed and sat next to me on the bed, wrapping his arms around me.

"I love you Pixii…" he mumbled sadly. "But I honestly don't know if we are or aren't." he answered. "I like the idea of calling you mine permanently… but I don't know…" he whispered. I nodded in understanding.

"I know…" I sighed. "It's pretty late… we should get some rest…" I said unhappily. Synth sighed and went to his own bed.

"Night…" he whispered from across the room.

"G'night…" I muttered, already laying down.

--

In the morning we went to assembly, just like every other day, and just like almost every other day, Wigglytuff did something unexpected. Except that this unexpected thing caught my attention.

"… Okay, now that that's over with, let's discuss something important!" he ordered. "I've decided to open up a postal service! The word went out to all over the world, and letters have already flooded us from almost everyone's families!" he exclaimed, and to prove his point, rolled a bin full of letters out from his room.

--

We spent the rest of the morning getting letters. Brooklyn was smiling and crying the entire time she read hers for some reason, and Olive was reading with a scowl upon her face. Lily and Chris got one letter, and both had large smiles. Most of the others were the same way, except for Synth and I, because we didn't have any family.

We didn't do much in the afternoon, because people were still getting letters. All Synth and I did was sit in our room, talking about nothing in particular and avoiding the very _touchy_ subject from last night.

--

"Can you pass the Red Gummies?" Brooklyn asked cheerily at dinner that night.

"Sure." I said before taking one and handing the bowl to her.

"Why are you so happy?" Malcolm asked bluntly, earning a peck from Carrie.

"Oh…" she exclaimed. "You'll see!" she chirped before biting into one of the Red Gummies.

"What'd you're letter say?" Synth asked Team Magic as they ate.

"My mom's coming to visit in a week!" Chris said excitedly. This was one of the only times I'd ever heard him talk, so it must've made him exceptionally happy.

"So is mine…" Olive said glumly.

"Is that bad?" Carrie asked.

"Yes! Knowing her, she'll try to convince me to come home, and when that doesn't work, she'll try to give me a reason to." she snapped.

"Be nice Olive, she was only asking." I reprimanded. "Why don't you just tell her you don't want to?" I asked.

"'Cause if I do she'll go all teary-eyed and tell me how much she misses me. She'll basically guilt-trip me into it!" she exclaimed.

"Oh…" I stayed quiet on that topic after that.

"Are your parents coming to visit, Pixii?" Lily asked curiously. I stiffened at the mention of them, and had trouble controlling my breathing.

"No." Synth answered quickly for me, rubbing my arm comfortingly. The others got the hint and left that subject alone.

"We've all told you what our letters said, why don't you spill, Brooklyn?" Carrie suggested jokingly.

"Never!" Brooklyn laughed. We spent the rest of dinner joking and laughing, and I had quickly gotten over my grief. Needless to say, Brooklyn's cheer was contagious.

--

We woke up in the morning, once again, to the sound of Red yelling. After getting ready, we went out to morning assembly.

"…And this letter is for Synth!" Wigglytuff exclaimed sometime after finishing the regular briefing. Synth blinked twice before shuffling up and taking the letter. He excused himself and went to our room to read it.

When the rest of assembly was over, I went back to our room, curious about his letter. Synth was sitting on his bed with his eyes closed. He was pale, and obviously unhappy.

"Synth…? What'd the letter say?" I asked softly. He handed the letter to me with a shaky hand, not even bothering to open his eyes.

_Dear Synthesis,_

_We only just recently found a way to reach you. My name is Daisy. I'm your aunt. Has your mother ever told you about me? Your uncle and myself will be coming to this 'Guild' place you're staying at and coming for you in two days. Isn't that wonderful, sweety? I'm sorry it's taken so long to find you. We'll be traveling to Jhoto after that. You'll have so much fun there! We can get acquainted at the visit, be good until then!_

_- Your new guardian, Daisy Woodshroud._

"No…" I whispered. Synth nodded solemnly, he hadn't opened his eyes yet. I sniffed and sat next to him on the bed.

--

**A/N: -Is hiding from all the probably pissed off fans, and sends Droplet and Dusk to do the end of chapter A/N-**

**Dusk: Um… Hi everyone! Pixii's hiding right now, so we'll be doing the A/N!**

**Droplet: It won't do her any good to hide. Even I can see her under the covers…**

**Dusk: Don't be so negative, Droplet!**

**Droplet: Being created by a clownophobic goth will do that to you sometimes.**

**Dusk: -Sigh- Well, we'd better get this show on the road! How'd you like the chapter? Pixii hoped you would, even if most people's favorite character is leaving.**

**Droplet: Don't forget to review all of you! We'll be watching!**

**Dusk: -Sweatdrop- Uhhhhh huh… Well, Pixii thought up a nice Fun Fact for all of you on Chris!**

**Droplet: Enjoy, you pathetic humans.**

**Dusk: Be nice Droplet!! Um… So Chris was born and grew up in a loving family. He has a big crush on Lily, and protects her from harm as much as possible. Despite this though, she manages to get her fair share of the action. He's level 40 at the moment, and is super close to evolving!**

**Droplet: Best fun fact **_**ever…**_

**Dusk: Stop being so negative!! Don't forget to review!**

**Dusk & Droplet: We're out!**


	26. Chapter 25

**A/N: -Still hiding-**

**Dusk: Hello again! We'll be doing the A/Ns again because some of you threatened to kill Pixii.**

**Droplet: Wouldn't that be **_**awful**_**?**

**-From under the bed- I HEARD THAT!**

**Droplet: So? I have some Mr. Mime friends…**

**-Now cowering in fear under the bed- AHH!!**

**Dusk: -Sweatdrop- Um… Well, thanks for all the reviews! Pixii's been planning this from the beginning. She also put in another option in her poll! Droplet and I hope you like the chapter!**

**Droplet: No I don't…**

**Dusk: Will you shut up already?**

**Droplet: Why are you being so mean, oh dearest friend of mine?**

**Dusk: Graah! Just read the chapter!**

**Droplet: I was there when she wrote it, why would I need to read it, Knowing One?**

**Dusk: Know what? SCREW YOU!!**

**Droplet: Princess here seems to have lost her cool, we'll see you guys at the bottom.**

**--**

Synth and I spent the next two days together as much as possible. We didn't do anything without each other, and we avoided the topic of Synth's impending departure.

The two days we had left went much too fast.

When I woke up it was still dark, and Synth was sound asleep. I tried to keep my mind off of what was happening today, but I couldn't. After this afternoon, I'd probably never see Synth again. Never hear his voice, or know how he was feeling. Never be able to look up into his eyes and know that I was loved by someone, and know that I returned that love.

I sighed sadly, holding back the armies of tears that were threatening to spill. Deciding that I should make the most of what little time I had with Synth left, I pulled my knees up to my chest and rested my head on them, watching my love sleep peacefully. After all, this was probably the last time I'd get to.

--

I sat there for the two hours it took before Red began waking everyone up, and my love opened his eyes.

"Morning…" he yawned as if this was just like every other day. When realization came crashing down, he stiffened. I avoided his gaze as much as possible, which meant not looking at him. It was foolish of me, because I'd probably never see him again.

After breakfast that morning, Synth had had enough with my evasiveness.

"Pixii…" he sighed sadly. "I only have a few hours left to be with you, _please_ look at me?" he pleaded. I would've loved to, except I was sure that as soon as I saw the finality shining in his eyes I'd break down on the spot. I didn't want him to be more upset than he already was.

"At least tell me why you won't…" he pleaded again. We were in the hallway at the moment, so we received some odd glances from passers-by.

"I can't…" I explained in a broken whisper before continuing down the hall, my head bowed the entire time. Synth followed me, but left me to myself for a while. When I thought around five minutes had passed, I finally looked up. Synth had his back to me, but I could easily see that he was looking at his Emerald again. There was a knock on the door, and my head snapped in that direction. Chimez came in moments later.

"You have visitors Synth." she informed us solemnly before floating out. I tried to swallow the lump in my throat before standing up, my face away from Synth's again. When we were on the second floor, we were met with a Sceptile and a Tropius.

"Synthesis?" the Sceptile, which I could now distinguish as a girl, asked uncertainly.

"Synth." he corrected flatly.

"Well then, um, Synth… It's nice to meet you. Have you said goodbye to everyone yet?" she asked kindly. Synth shook his head, and with a disappointed sigh, the Tropius and Sceptile turned around. "We'll be waiting up top for you to finish…" she trailed off, already climbing the ladder. When they were gone, Synth turned to look at me.

"Pixii…" he started sadly. I still hadn't looked up. "Look at me…" he pleaded. This was my last chance, and I had to take it.

"Yes?" I asked in a whisper, looking up. He had tears in his eyes.

"I love you." he whispered, taking me into his arms.

"I love you, too… Please stay…" I pleaded, the tears I had tried to hold back running freely now.

"I can't…" he said sadly.

"Why not?"

"Pixii… I'd stay if I could…. But I can't… They're legally my guardians now."

"Why did they choose _now_ to find you?! Years of being treated like dirt and they choose when everything's getting better to take you!" I ranted in broken sobs.

"Syn-- oh, who's this?" his aunt's voice came from my side.

"Pixii…" he mumbled lovingly.

"Synth… if you can't stay, then I'll come with you!" I whispered. Synth shook his head.

"You still have duties to the Guild…" he countered sadly.

"Hurry up now, we need to go!" his aunt complained.

"Will you _shut up _can't you see she's upset?!" he whispered to her harshly.

"Well hurry it along…" she trailed off, heading up the ladder again.

"I love you, remember that…" Synth whispered to me before, he too, headed up the ladder for the last time.

--

**A/N: -Now fighting off Mr. Mimes-**

**Dusk: I just don't see why you had to get them to go after her!**

**Droplet: My personal favorite character is Olive, but Synth comes close.**

**Dusk: This is about the story?!**

**Droplet: Of course.**

**Dusk: Graah! Whatever… Hey you guys! How'd you like the chapter?… Pixii says she loved it… I liked it too, because sometimes things have to get worse before they get better!**

**Droplet: Cut the crap. What she **_**means**_** is that it sucked and should never see the light of day.**

**-Under kitchen sink- HEY!!**

**Dusk: -sigh- See what I have to live with?… Um… don't forget to review!**

**Droplet: No really. Don't. Or else…**

**Droplet & Dusk: We're out!**


	27. Chapter 26

**A/N: Is it safe to come out?… -Is almost shot- Nope!**

**Dusk: -Sigh- Welcome back guys! When Pixii checked her poll results--**

**Droplet: People vote on her poll??**

**-Hiding from guns- HEY! I do have loyal fans, ya know!!**

**Dusk: AS I WAS SAYING, she checked her results and out of the 10 people that have voted on it, 7 of them never want PMD:TT to end. Droplet, will you please take this up?**

**Droplet: Whatever… We all know that these 'talk shows' on FFN are becoming popular and Pixii, being the mindless clown that she is--**

**-Hiding- CLOWNS ARE EVIL!!**

**Droplet: -Sweat drop- has been mulling over the idea of one, using characters from PMD:TT, Dusk, and me. She'd like to know what all of you think of the idea, and because of that, might change the poll after this chapter is posted…**

**Dusk: Um… I think that's all, except for us letting you know that Pixii appreciates the reviews, and that she wants you to enjoy the chapter!!**

**Droplet: How can we? Synth's not in it…**

**Dusk: I'm going to ignore that… Besides, a new character makes an appearance this chapter! Be grateful!**

**--**

The next day, I regained some sense for the world around me, and realizing that sitting in my room sulking wasn't useful to the Guild, I went to see Wigglytuff.

When I entered the room, however, the Guild Master came running toward me.

"Oh friendly friend, I heard all about it!! What is it you need?" he asked compassionately. My throat was sore from all the crying I had done after Synth left, so it hurt to talk.

"Sitting around doesn't help the Guild." I started. My voice sounded low and hoarse, as if I hadn't had anything to drink for days. I breathed in deeply. "I can't operate an Exploration Team by myself… I need something else to do…" I explained. Wigglytuff nodded eagerly in his happy-go-lucky way.

"We've been needing someone to run a permanent Postal Corner!" he explained eagerly, leading me to the second floor where a new stall had been set up. There was a wide counter with shelf upon shelf behind it, and two or three large mail bins. The shelves were mostly bear, and two of the bins were full.

"Welcome to the official Postal Corner of Treasure Town!" Wigglytuff exclaimed. "You'll need to sort out the letters, put them in their respective shelves, and hand them out when a Pokemon requests his or hers." he chimed.

"Thanks." I smiled emotionlessly before going behind the counter and beginning to sort the mail.

--

The next two weeks or so passed relatively quickly, and aside from a visit from Chris' mother, nothing happened. At least, not until three Poochyena entered the Guild one day and waltzed over to the Postal Corner. The one in the lead was largest, and had a rose in his mouth. The one on his right was female, and had golden fur instead of grey and black. The one of his left was another male, except he wasn't as large, and seemed to be paired off with the female.

"Can I help you…?" I asked in my now hollow voice. It hadn't had emotion since two days after Synth left. They seemed taken aback a bit by my voice, but one in front answered, nonetheless.

"Does Brooklyn live here?" he asked eagerly.

"Yes." I answered curtly, then went back to sorting mail.

"Where is she?" the female asked.

"Why do you need to know?" I asked, uninterested.

"I'm her mate." he answered.

"She should be back soon, then…" I mumbled. As if on cue, she and Olive climbed down the ladder.

"Claw!!" she exclaimed happily before sprinting to him. I turned away. I didn't need reminders of what, of _who_, my life lacked now.

--

Claw and his posse stayed at the Guild for two more weeks before they left, so I was often the recipient of complaints from Olive about missing her teammate. I could only relate so much… The day after they left, Brooklyn was hanging around the Postal Corner, talking to me about how great he was when I said the first thing in weeks that possessed any emotion whatsoever.

"…and the way he speaks to me--" she had been rambling.

"Brooklyn! Don't you think I'm the worst person to come to about your mate?" I commented angrily. Her ears drooped at my negativity.

"But Pixii, you know what love is… so I thought maybe you _would_ be best to come to…" she explained weakly.

"_Me_?! _My_ love left me! _My_ love is half way around the world! Heck, _I_ haven't seen my love in two months!" I said harshly. She got a glint of anger in her eyes.

"Pixii, besides Olive, no one knows this. But I'll tell you anyway. That was the first time Claw and I have heard from each other in _two years_! I know how you feel, but it'll get better eventually." she said back lowly, and with a huff, she turned and left the counter. I sighed sadly and went back to my job.

--

After another week of working at the Postal Corner non-stop I decided to train at the Dojo. I battled around ten or fifteen times, and grew considerably stronger. It was almost dark when I got back to the Guild and fell asleep. Lately I'd been having dreams about the strange pink cat from so long ago, but thankfully, Synth wasn't in any of them.

I couldn't bear to see his face again unless it were really him.

--

A package came in the mail the next day, addressed to me. I wasn't particularly curious, but it was better than doing the boring mail work, so I opened it. I almost broke down when I saw what was inside. Synth's Emerald, and a small note with only three words written on it.

_I love you._

I wiped away any stray tears and put the Emerald and the note on the counter before putting the envelope away.

"Excuse me?" a childish male voice asked from behind.

"Yes?" I whispered, still trying to keep my tears under control, before turning around. In front of me stood a Riolu holding a Blast Seed. "Can I help you?" I asked, startled.

"Yeah… gimme that emerald!" he exclaimed. When I refused he picked it up off the counter and sprinted away, using Quick Attack. Sighing, I used a newly acquired Flamethrower, making him unknowingly turn back in this direction. When he zipped passed me I plucked the jewel from his paw.

"Hey! I was stealing that!" he whined.

"So? Try it again and your paw comes off." I said lowly, now back to my hollow voice. He recoiled at the coldness of it, but got a confident smirk seconds later.

"Is that a threat or a promise?" he taunted.

"Both." I said menacingly before turning back to my work.

"What's your name?" he asked after a while.

"None of your business. Now why don't you leave before I report you to Officer Magnazone for attempted theft?" I replied.

"I was just asking. Doesn't matter, I know who you are anyway." he said haughtily.

"Then _who_ am I?" I challenged.

"Your name's Pixii, of Exploration Team Twilight." he answered correctly. I spun around to look at him.

"How'd you know?" I asked quickly.

"Everyone knows about Team Twilight. All the town's Pokemon brag about your discovery a few months back."

"The gems, you mean?"

"Yeah!" he exclaimed happily. "Well, I gotta go find someway to pay for food somewhere el--" he started.

"You need money for food?" I cut him off. He nodded.

"Here…" I sighed, handing him ten dollars.

"Thanks!" he exclaimed before running out of the Guild. Sighing, I went back to my work.

--

**A/N: -Dodging bullets-**

**Dusk: Um… Pixii's busy at the moment. Sorry! Well… she'll be putting the new poll up tomorrow, so vote on the current one before it's too late! Tell us what you thought in your review!**

**Droplet: That pathetic thief was Drake, a Riolu with money problems…**

**Dusk: Will you leave the poor guy alone??**

**Droplet: Whatever… Tell us your opinion on the Talk Show idea in your review too. That is… if you remember, you pathetic fools.**

**Dusk: Y'know who you remind me of, Droplet?**

**Droplet: Who?**

**Dusk: That guy from the anime… I think his name's Paul.**

**Droplet: Pfft, I know how to be nice.**

**Dusk: Riiiiiiight…**

**Droplet & Dusk: We're out!**


	28. Chapter 27

**A/N: -Still hiding…- Can I have some food?**

**Droplet: Not until you get your sorry ass out from under the sink.**

**-Hiding- NEVER!!**

**Dusk: -Sweat drop- Uh… **

**Droplet: Please enjoy this chapter, which is void of Synth, yet again.**

**Dusk: Do you have a crush on him or something??**

**Droplet: Of course not! I have a mate whom I love very much. Why would I like a Treecko??**

**Dusk: If I recall, your mate is a Leafeon. Do you have a thing for grass-types?…**

**Droplet: Don't make me angry Dusk.**

**Dusk: Since when were you happy??**

**Droplet: … Screw you.**

**--**

Another week passed by without much happening, except for Saturday. I was walking through the town square when I ran into the Riolu again. Well technically, he ran into me.

"Hey get back here!" one of Officer Magnazone's underlings, a Magnemite, yelled. Two of them were chasing the Riolu, whom was clutching two apples to his chest. He didn't notice me, so of course, he ran into me and fell to the ground. Offering him a paw, I commented.

"Stealing again?" I asked in the hollow voice. He nodded, looking up at me with pleading eyes from his spot on the ground. The Magnemite finally caught up to us then.

"Oh, hello ma'am. This Riolu was stealing these apples. We'll need to bring him in." one explained.

"He'll be paying his dues with community service." I said, my voice ringing with finality.

"Um… okay…" they agreed. With a sigh, he gave the officers back the stolen fruit.

"Thanks for saving me back there!" he exclaimed before turning in the opposite direction.

"Where do you think you're going?" I reprimanded.

"Uh… home?" he asked hopefully, turning around. I shook my head.

"No, you're going to the Guild, to fulfill your community service." I said slyly, leading the way back.

--

When we reached the Postal Corner at the Guild, I stopped in front of the counter.

"How am I gonna do community service??" he asked skeptically.

"By taking over my post for a while." I said bluntly. "Just sort the mail, and give any letters or packages that anyone asks for to them. It's easy enough…" I trailed off, walking in the other direction.

"For how long?" he yelled.

"A few hours…" I answered, already climbing down the ladder. Once I was in my room, I sighed sadly, laying down on my bed. I missed Synth more than ever on days like this… These were days we should be out saving Pokemon in dungeons. On days like this I wouldn't be bored in the least if Synth were here. I couldn't stand sitting still on a day like this, so with a sigh, I stood back up.

"What to do…?" I muttered to myself before exiting my room and climbing the ladder again.

"Am I done?!" the Riolu asked anxiously from behind the counter.

"Nope, it'd barely been a few minutes, let alone a few hours…" I answered, then climbed the other ladder, leading to the surface.

I suddenly noticed the slight chill of the air, and the absence of leaves in the trees. I couldn't believe it, but I'd missed noticing that winter was coming until now. A shiver ran through my spine in that same moment, but I passed it off as the chill in the air.

I made my way toward the Beach, looking at the scenery around me, and noticing once again how much everything had changed. When I made it to the shore I sat down on the now cold sand.

"Where are you Synth…? I miss you…" I mumbled out loud, as if the waves would carry my message to him. I let a few tears slip out while I sat there, remembering all the times I had spent with him.

--

It didn't feel like I'd been on the Beach for long, but I knew it'd been at least two hours because when I got up the sun was setting. The sound of sand crunching from behind me made me spin around. I was now face-to-beak with the star of my nightmares.

"Hello, Pixii. Fancy meeting you here…" Scar started off conversationally.

"H-hello…" I whispered meekly, backing away. The cold sting of seawater made me halt my steps, however.

"Where's that chicken you like so much?" he continued, stalking forward expertly.

"He's… somewhere…" I mumbled. Scar raised an eyebrow at the answer.

"Is he now?" he replied amusedly. I then noticed the absence of his underlings.

"Where are the Pidgey and the Taillow?" I mumbled to myself, though Scar heard anyway.

"Pudge and Ace? Those weaklings were captured by Team Matrix around a week or so ago…" he said with disgust, stopping in his tracks.

"That's a shame…" I continued talking, trying to prolong the inevitable. Scar soon caught on, however, and started advancing again.

"You obviously know what I came to do…?" he smiled sadistically.

"Y-yes… but why?" I asked in a whisper.

"I couldn't let you live after that day… Remember when you burned my face?" he asked in a babying voice.

"Of course I do… It was my first rescue mission…" I agreed.

"Well, that's why." he smiled largely before charging forward, his wings glowing. He smashed into me with amazing force moments later, sending me crashing into the waves.

The stinging and stabbing of the ocean water was worse that I'd ever felt. Luckily I was able to drag myself out of the water quickly. Scar chuckled darkly as I coughed, wincing on the sand.

"Enjoy your swim?" he mocked before flying upward. His talons glowed menacingly before he descended at an amazing speed. I closed my eyes and hunched over, waiting for the pain that would come. The only thing I heard was a familiar voice grunting before Scar laughed sadistically.

"Well look who joined us!"

--

**A/N:**** I think it's safe to come out now. :3 Thanks for all the reviews and PM's you guys! (No matter how many of them contained death threats…) I think you all know who it is, which is why I'm feeling safe enough to come out of hiding! Don't forget to review!**

**Pixii out!**


	29. Chapter 28

**A/N:**** Thanks for all the reviews!! Blue, you're back!! Update your story, ya lay about! (Just kidding!) Uh… You guys might or might not have noticed, but I have a new poll on my profile that you all will enjoy voting in. :P Um… I have nothing else to say… amazing, isn't it? You shall all LURF me again!! x3**

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I almost broke down on the spot when I saw what, who, had blocked the attack. Laying on the sand with three shallow cuts on his stomach was Synth! I stood up and raced over to him.

"Synth…?" I whispered hesitantly, offering him my hand.

"Hello…" he chuckled before accepting my help. When he was firmly on his feet, he stepped protectively in front of me, ignoring the shallow gashes on his stomach.

"The chicken's back, eh? No matter. It'll be more convenient to take you both out at once…" Scar trailed off, running at us again with glowing wings. Synth used Screech, halting the large bird in his steps as he clutched at his head. Synth took this time to run at him with blinding speed, using Quick Attack. When he was close enough, however, he used Absorb… at least I thought it was Absorb… The attack was much stronger, and I soon realized it was Mega Drain. Scar soon recovered, however, and used Drill Peck on Synth's chest, throwing him back.

"No!" I exclaimed without realizing, and began using Flamethrower repeatedly, turning the Staraptor into littler less than a living burnt chicken. Synth's eyes opened a bit, and his breathing was ragged. I didn't notice as Scar ran toward me again, his Drill Peck charging up, so I was thrown back by the force. Pain rippled through my chest, where I was hit, and I coughed a bit, worsening the sting.

Looking up, I noticed that Synth was once again in front of me. He was still at a huge disadvantage, despite Scar's weakened state.

They battled for around an hour, the sky already turning navy blue. Synth was thrown back again, hitting a rock jutting out from the sand. Scar came running at me then from across the beach, and I struggled to my feet. When he was around five feet away, however, he was knocked to the side by Synth's Quick Attack.

"This is getting annoying…" Scar grumbled before flapping his wings and flying away. I stumbled toward Synth, taking his hand.

"How'd you get back?" I gasped skeptically. He shrugged and chuckled.

"My aunt isn't exactly the most attentive Pokemon in the world…" he muttered, taking me in for a hug.

"I missed you…" I whispered.

"I missed you too…" he muttered back.

"Doesn't that hurt?" I asked, referring to the cuts on his stomach.

"It'll heal…" he said dismissively . "Should we go back to the Guild?" he asked.

"Is it safe for you to?" When I received a questioning glance, I hastened to explain. "I mean, everyone else thinks you're somewhere in Jhoto…" I trailed off.

"Oh… I'll just tell them they let me come back…" he mumbled lamely.

"Synth…" I sighed, hugging him closer.

--

We stayed on the beach for around an hour more, holding each other close. When the sky was navy blue, I knew it was time to leave.

"We need to go back…" I said reluctantly. Synth sighed and nodded, and we made our way back home.

--

**A/N:**** Now I think that was 'Aww' worthy! :D Sorry it's so short, but Synth makes up for it, right?! :3 Um… My grandma's back in the hospital… I don't really think she'll come back out… Pray for her? Uh, please review you guys! **

**Pixii out!**


	30. Chapter 29

**A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for the long wait, I've been cramming for school like crazy for the last few days!! Thanks so much for the reviews, I love you all! Uh… I might be able to get a chapter up on Thursday, so that might be something to look forward to… I'm already working on the Prologue/Chapter 1 of the sequel to TT, crazy, isn't it? :P Check out my friend Human Pikachu's new story: Broken Wings. It's absolutely amazing, and I personally think even the first chapter outshines TT!! Uh… Pretty much everyone in my Forum has great stories… I command you to R&R them ALL!! Muahahahahaha!! Uh… On a side note, my Grandma's doing better! :3 And, uh… I think the prayers you've all been giving have been helping, so thanks… Enjoy the chapter, everyone!**

**--**

When we got back to the Guild, everyone greeted Synth as if he had never left, and the Riolu was still on duty at the postal counter. When he saw us his eyes lit up, and he dashed out from behind the counter.

"Hi Synth! Can I go now Pixii?!" the strange Pokemon said quickly.

"…How do you know my name…??" Synth asked skeptically.

"I'm Drake! Anyways, of course I know about you guys! You're the best Team around, in my opinion!" he explained happily.

"Isn't it a bit late, Drake?" I commented. He paused for a moment before continuing.

"So? It doesn't matter. Danica won't mind if I'm gone for a little while longer."

"You've been gone for hours, Drake." I said disapprovingly.

"Well then I need someone to walk me home." he stated rudely. Synth sighed.

"Would you like us to walk you home?" he asked tiredly. The Riolu nodded eagerly before turning and climbing the ladder. Synth and I sighed in unison, also climbing up.

After exiting the Guild, the Riolu brought us down a side road, mostly covered by tree limbs. The walk was silent, except for Drake's constant chatter. With the way he acted, I was guessing he was only a child.

Around twenty minutes later, we arrived at a cave. The entrance was small, and it was a good thing Synth and I hadn't evolved, otherwise we would've never been able to fit through the opening when Drake invited us in.

The front room was rather large, and well decorated, considering it belonged to a child. The floor was smooth and flat, so it was easy to see why Drake chose this cave to call his home. There were a few different colored cushions lining the wall to our left, and a fire pit to our right. There was a table and four small crates being used as stools. I was only able to see all of this because he had torches along the walls, lighting the entire room. There were two doorways in the back, leading to what I was guessing were bedrooms.

"How did you afford all of this?? I thought you were a thief…" I mumbled before catching what I had said. "Oh, I guess I underestimated your abilities." I joked. There was a squeal in the other room before a cream and black blur clung onto the Riolu, whom was struggling to release the hold.

"YOU'RE BACK!!" I know realized the Pokemon was a female Mawile, whom looked even younger than Drake. She had two pink bows on her head, and large grey eyes… Wait, grey? Mawile were supposed to have charcoal colored eyes.

"Why are her eyes grey?" I whispered to Drake.

"'Cause I'm blind, silly!" the Mawile giggled.

"You are? But how are you… you know…" I finished awkwardly.

"Danica uses the jaws on the back of her head to sense stuff." Drake explained in a bored tone, still struggling out of her grip. "Danica, let go!!" he exclaimed, pushing her to the ground. Her eyes watered as she got up.

"That was mean, Drakey!" she sniffed.

"My name's not Drakey!" he exclaimed angrily before storming into the other room. Synth and I looked at each other awkwardly for a moment before the Mawile spoke again.

"Please excuse Drakey's manners. He gets really grumpy when he hasn't eaten." she giggled happily, going into the other room and bringing out a basket of Gummies. "Help yourselves!" she invited cheerily.

"No thanks, Danica." Synth denied politely.

"Oh, okay!" she smiled before turning and going to the room Drake went into. "Drakey, I got your favorite!" she called in happily.

"Don't call me Drakey!!" I heard him yell out. Danica put the basket on the floor and put her hands on her hips.

"If you don't eat these you could get sick! You know what Nurse Chansey told us… You haveta eat!" she reasoned.

"No!" came his muffled reply. The pair of jaws on the back of Danica's head opened slightly, revealing sharp teeth.

"Eat them or I'll eat you!" she threatened angrily. He came out of the room moments later, picked up an Orange Gummie, and stomped back in.

"That's better!" she smiled happily. You wouldn't know that she was blind if you were passing her at random, she hid it so well…

"It's getting pretty late, Pixii and I should head back to the Guild…" Synth muttered politely.

"Bye! Come back soon, Drake really likes you guys, I can tell!" Danica stated proudly.

"Maybe you should visit us?" I offered before yawning and resting my head on Synth's shoulder.

"You sound tired." Danica giggled. "Good night, you guys." she said politely as we left.

"Night!" we smiled and waved before starting down the road.

--

We got back fairly late, it was probably almost midnight. At the moment I was sitting on my bed, looking out at the sky. Synth had fallen asleep earlier, and I didn't blame him. I'd have to ask him how he got back tomorrow…

Sighing, I laid down and fell asleep.

--

**A/N:**** Sorry it was so short! :X **_**Somepeople **_**in my forum were bothering me. XD The chapter's dedicated to every member of the Forum, btw! Especially Kitty tho, just 'cause I feel like it. The last few chapters have been scenes of unimportance that make you wanna go 'aww' deprived. I ish sad… TT But I adore Danica! :P Please review, and ignore the utter shortness of this chapter!**

**Pixii out!**


	31. Chapter 30

**A/N:**** Sorry about the long wait everyone!! I've been overloading with schoolwork.**

… **That, and I've been enjoying the **_**FOUR**_** RP's that I'm involved in way more than I should. XD Alright… Advertisement time… Check out all of Areofols' stories, Clinically Insane And Dangerous' stories, Human Pikachu's stories, and Jolteon.Lover.Forever's stories. Got it? Good. :D**

**I started a new story (one of the ideas from my profile) and posted the first chapter earlier. I'd love it if you guys checked it out. Since it was originally going to start sometime in December, it probably won't update much… At least, not until I finish up TT.**

**Enjoy the chapter everyone, and don't forget to review!**

**--**

We spent the next two weeks doing rescue missions and hanging around with Drake and Danica, whom we continued to realize weren't the _best_ pair…

In fact, they bickered more than anyone I'd ever met… But we hung out with them, nonetheless… Danica was sweet almost all the time, and Drake enjoyed hearing the stories we told of our missions. He'd be a great Explorer one day…

Oh right, speaking of explorers… One day when Drake and I were walking back to the Guild (he had asked me to train with him, and I'd complied) in silence, he broke it.

"Can I join Team Twilight?" he asked suddenly, hope and excitement in his voice. When I looked down at him, the same emotions were swirling in his eyes. How was I supposed to say no?

"Sure." I smiled. He smiled larger than I'd ever seen from him, and pumped his fist in the air. I laughed. "Happy?"

"Very!" he exclaimed. "Race you to the Guild!" he laughed, using Quick Attack to get a head start.

"That's cheating!" I called after him, already running.

--

We made it back to the Guild in two minutes flat, ending in a tie.

"I won!" he huffed. I sighed and entered the Guild. Synth and Danica were waiting on the second floor.

"Hi." I said sweetly, hugging him.

"How was training?" he asked after letting go.

"It was alright… We have a new member of the team." I smiled. A confused look crossed his face.

"Who?" he asked.

"Drake." I said cheerfully. A distressed look crossed his face this time. "…What is it?" I asked cautiously.

"Only the leader's allowed to accept new members." he stated flatly.

"So? Just say he's allowed and we're fine." I giggled. Synth shook his head. "Why not?"

"I don't want another member." he said in a monotone.

"Why? He's got potential. You have to admit that." I tried to reason, glancing quickly at Drake and Danica. He was boasting about his new spot on the team.

"I only want two members." he explained.

"Why?" I asked, confused.

"I just do!" he exclaimed suddenly, storming out of the Guild. What had gotten into him?? I sighed and scratched the back of my neck awkwardly. How was I supposed to explain this to Drake??

"Um… Drake?" I asked tentatively.

"Hm?" he replied cheerfully.

"You're not exactly… um… on the team…" I muttered uncomfortably.

"WHAT?!" he exclaimed. "But you said I was!!" he yelled. Danica put her hand on his shoulder, but he shook it off.

"Drake it's not--" I was cut off by him leaving the Guild. I sighed sadly and looked at Danica.

"Can I have an explanation please?" she asked softly. I sighed again.

"Sure." I replied tiredly.

--

**A/N:**** I know it was short, and I'm sorry, but I've been working through my Writer's Block **_**ALL FRIKKEN DAY**_**. So I'm proud of myself for cranking out even this much… Please review. :3**

**Pixii out!**


	32. Chapter 31

**A/N:**** This chappy be dedicated to everyone in Sinnoh Struggles, PMD the Forum, Transformed, and Legends Hollow. (Sorry, there's too many of us to list in here. XD)**

**RANT TIME!!**

**My new principle is changing EVERYTHING dammit!! The student council, exclusive to eighth grade, is being changed to allow 6 and 7 too! WHAT THE HELL?! Not only that, but that damn bitch has decided to cancel MY end of the year cruise!! I've been waiting for this since KINDERGARTEN!! Damn bitch is getting Hell on Monday…**

**RANT TIME OVER!**

**Sorry guys, I'm obviously very pissed at the moment… Sorry for the delay in updates. :3**

**This chapter makes up for it though, right?? I took out all my anger and frustrations on a certain character…**

**--**

I sighed and pulled my knees up to my chest. I'd gone back to our room, hoping that Synth would come back soon. This was the first real fight we'd ever had, if you could even call it a fight…

It was a dumb reason, and an even dumber reaction.

Upon this realization, I huffed and stood up. I shouldn't be waiting for him to come back. I should be out there finding out what was wrong… After all, weren't Explorers supposed to make discoveries?

With a determined glint in my eye, I walked out the door.

--

I sighed again, finding another of Synth's usual spots empty… I hadn't found him, and it'd been around a half hour. I was starting to worry.

A sudden explosion sounded from a forest nearby, and with a panicked 'Eep!' I rushed to where it had come from.

What I found, I wasn't expecting… At least, not so soon. I pinched myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming… But then again, I couldn't have been.

This could only be considered a nightmare.

A Grovyle was fighting Scar, whom was using Sky Attack on the poor grass-type. The Grovyle dodged expertly, using Leaf Blade to slash him across one wing, impairing his flying abilities.

"Damn coward!" the Staraptor exclaimed. How was this Grovyle a coward? He looked pretty brave to me… The only one Scar had ever called a coward was-…

Something clicked just then. With a gasp, I looked at the Grovyle's neck. A teardrop shaped emerald was there…

Synth had evolved.

I blinked stupidly, unable to comprehend the change. Unfortunately, Scar noticed me.

"Well, well, well… Look who else's joined us. It's your little teammate." the Staraptor cackled before charging at me, using Steel Wing. I growled and readied a Flame Thrower, but Synth blocked the attack with Leaf Blade easily. I hadn't even seen him come.

"Synth?! How'd you evolve?!" I exclaimed incredulously. He chuckled.

"That lake over there." he answered, pointing toward said body of water before going back to fighting.

It sparkled, and looked different than most lakes I'd seen before… Of course, I hadn't seen many to begin with… But how'd a lake make you evolve?? As if he were reading my mind, Synth answered.

"If you step in it, it makes you evolve." he explained after Pounding Scar again. With a shrug, I walked cautiously toward it, eager to find any differences between other bodies of water I'd seen.

"Pixii!" Synth screamed from behind me. When I turned, it was too late. Scar had managed to avoid Synth for a fraction of a second, using Steel Wing to knock me into the water.

I shut my eyes instinctively, and my muscles tensed, awaiting the inevitable pain… that never came. The only feeling I got was one of slight discomfort, which I couldn't place. There was a slight burning in my hands and feet, and the rest of me tingled… I could also feel a warm glow around me… I was suddenly ripped from the water by familiar arms.

"Pixii! Are you okay??" Synth asked anxiously before setting me down… and gasping? I opened my eyes.

My scales were a light burgundy, my claws white, sharp, and long, glistening in what was left of the sunlight. My tail was larger, the flame blazing powerfully. With a gasp, I realized what had happened while I was in the water. The same thing that had happened to Synth.

I'd evolved. Synth looked at me lovingly before pain shot through his eyes, and he fell. I looked up in alarm, and my tail flame grew dangerously large.

"How touching." Scar snarled coldly. I stood up, getting accustomed to my new form easily.

"You die today." I said angrily. He simply scoffed. Synth stood up and took on a protective stance, pain still showing in his eyes.

"I want to help, Synth." I said carefully. He sighed and nodded, knowing I wasn't about to give up easily.

Using Flame Thrower, I burnt the large bird worse than he could ever hope to recover from. I winced as he shrieked in pain, but knew this was only what he deserved after all the pain he'd caused others.

"DAMN LIZARD!" he howled, charging at me with Brave Bird… Fitting name for what he was attempting. Well, that, or Stupid Bird. Either one worked…

Synth blocked his advance easily with Leaf Blade, effectively slashing the large bird's chest, blood pouring out easily. He cursed again, flying up high. I took this chance to use my Flame Thrower again, the powerful pillar of flames illuminating the sky and shooting him down.

When he was falling, he converted to using Sky Attack, being surrounded by flames as he charged at Synth. The Grovyle dodged this easily, though, and Scar plummeted into the dirt, landing with a sickening crack. He groaned and teetered to his feet.

"Give up and we'll let you live." I offered reluctantly.

"Never!" he yelled, hitting me with a Drill Peck. I fell back, pain pulsing through my chest. Synth looked back at me quickly before turning to Scar, whom wore a sadistic smile.

"That was the last mistake you'll ever make." he vowed. The leaves on the trees around us suddenly rustled, before shooting off from all directions, slicing Scar up brutally. The last sound I heard him make was a shriek of pain before all was quiet.

"Synth? What was that?" I whispered in horror.

"Leaf Storm… It's a move I learned after evolving." he explained, offering me a hand, which I gladly took. "Are you okay?" he asked worriedly.

"Fine." I waved a claw dismissively. He looked at me worriedly, but made no comment.

"We should head back… It's getting late…" he mumbled, pointing at the sky, which was turning a beautiful navy slowly.

"Guess you're right. Who knows what Wigglytuff may make us do when he finds out we evolved… We'll need all the sleep we can get." I smiled.

"We'll be the main Perfect Apple collectors." he chuckled before walking forward.

And we walked back to the Guild, hand in hand, ready to make as many new discoveries as possible.

--

**A/N:**** TT's a bit over halfway done, guys!! I don't wanna end it!! DX**

**Lol, it's still got around 15/20 chapters to go though, so we're fine for around four more months. How'd you all like the chapter?? :D You can expect the next chapter of Trapped sometime tomorrow/Sunday.**

**Don't forget to review, it makes me write faster!**

**Pixii out!**


	33. Chapter 32

**A/N:**** Please don't kill me for getting the chapter up late.! My life has not only been hectic the passed few weeks, **_**but**_** I accidentally deleted this chapter and had to retype it. **

**Hmm… We have about 11/12 chapters left before the Epilogue… That is, if I can stretch it out. I think I have chronic writer's block or something. It's been really hard to get any ideas to come outta my brain, so please bear with me. It'll get better next chapter. (I think…)**

**--**

We got some shocked looks as we walked back to the Guild, which was understandable. After all, Pokemon didn't evolve everyday. And two evolving at the same time must've been a new record for Treasure Town.

When we got back to the Guild, Danica was sitting outside with Drake, whom looked rather joyful. I'd forgotten to talk to Synth about what was wrong before… I'd ask when we were alone. Drake saw us and waved excitedly, Danica just smiling warmly in our direction.

"Hi guys!" he called. "Guess what?!" I laughed as we joined the two of them.

"What is it?" I smiled.

"We made an Exploration Team." the Riolu proclaimed proudly. I smiled warmly.

"You did? What's your name?"

"Team Aura Sphere! We'll be even better than Team Twilight some day!" he laughed. Danica giggled. Synth shook his head and chuckled.

"You do that." he smiled. I laughed and walked to the entrance of the Guild before turning.

"Are you guys getting a room here too?" I asked. They both nodded.

"We already moved in!" Danica said sweetly before standing up. "We're going to the Dojo to train, bye you guys!" she giggled, taking Drake's paw and skipping away.

After getting to the second floor, I looked at Synth uncomfortably.

"Synth?"

"Hm?" he smiled lovingly.

"Um… Why were you so… upset earlier?" I asked. He shrugged, frowning slightly.

"I couldn't really control it." he shrugged. A Sunflora walked over and smiled at us.

"Oooh, you evolved! I bet he was mean for a bit, wasn't he?" she asked speedily in her high pitched voice.

"How'd you know…?" I asked, confusion clear in my tone. She giggled.

"All grass-types are short tempered before evolution!" she exclaimed. "Oh, you should've seen me. I was snapping at everyone around me and I bet they all got so tired of me! They said I couldn't stop talking. I remember this one time…" she rambled on. Synth sighed and interrupted her.

"Thank you… We need to go now…" he said awkwardly. She giggled, waved, and walked in the opposite direction.

"She's… interesting?" I commented. Synth chuckled.

"I agree…" he smirked. We were about to go to our room when Lily ran down the stairs, tears streaking down her cheeks. When she reached us she nearly collapsed, wrapping her small arms around my waist and continuing to cry.

"What is it?" I asked, concern overpowering my tone as I patted her back.

"H-he's g-g-gone!" she wailed. My brow furrowed as Synth bent down to look at the distraught Ralts.

"Lily, who's gone?" he asked firmly. She sniffed.

"Ch-Chris is." she said in a teary voice before sobbing more. I bent down too and hugged her.

"Where'd he go?" I asked softly as she buried her face in my shoulder.

"H-he's dead!" she whispered. My face went blank as she continued to grieve. Chris, the quiet Abra, was gone.

"How?" Synth asked from my side. She looked up.

"W-we fought a group of Houndoom. They w-wanted to kill us… We fought the best we could, but th-they killed him!" she wailed. I sighed sadly and hugged her tighter.

"We'll bring him back." Synth promised. My head snapped up in alarm.

"How??" I whispered quickly.

"You will?!" she exclaimed, her mood instantly brightening.

"I'll explain later." he mouthed to me before turning back to the Ralts. "Just give us three days at least." he said warmly, standing up. She nodded happily and skipped off. I turned to the Grovyle.

"How are we supposed to raise the dead?" I asked in a doubtful tone. He chuckled.

"I read somewhere about the World Abyss… Giratina, Lord of the Dead, is supposed to be there. The souls of the dead are also supposed to be in the World Abyss. We'd be able to revive him if we got Giratina's help." he explained, but then frowned. "We'd need to have the help of a Dark Type and a Psychic…" he trailed off.

"Why?"

"The Dark Type will be essential if we want to have any type of chance down there, the Psychic type can heal us in case of anything, and Teleportation is the fastest way to the entrance." he said. I sighed sadly.

"Where are we gonna find anyone willing to take that kind of risk?" I wondered. Synth smiled.

"I'm sure we'll find someone." he said optimistically.

"We should probably look in Treasure Town… We might get lucky." I said.

--

We searched for around an hour before we came across two promising Pokemon. A Sableye with a red bandanna on her head and a Special Band around her waist was talking with a Grumpig wearing a Special Band on his head and a bandanna on his arm.

"Excuse me…" I started as we made our way up to them.

"If we defeated a Legendary we'd be famous! And--" the Sableye stopped mid-sentence and looked at us. "Hi!" she said with a toothy grin. Her Grumpig companion followed by waving.

"Hello. Would you two mind accompanying us on a mission?" Synth asked courteously. The Sableye's eyes sparkled, and she looked over to her partner.

"Please Marcus?" she exclaimed excitedly. The Grumpig looked nervous.

"We don't even know them…" he said uncertainly. I giggled.

"I'm Pixii, this is Synth." I said in a friendly tone.

"See, _now_ we know them." she smirked. He chuckled.

"Not what I meant." he said before turning to us. "I'm Marcus, this is Crystal. What kind of mission would this be?" he asked politely. I shifted uncomfortably.

"We're kind of hoping to find Giratina…" I said quietly.

"The Death God?" the Sableye exclaimed happily. "I've heard of him! Why would you want to see him, though?"

"Our friend died recently. We were hoping to bring him back." Synth answered.

"Oh. I'd love to help!" Crystal said kindly, Marcus sighing as he nodded.

"I'll Teleport us there, just tell me where we need to get to." he smiled.

"We'll need to stock up first, but the World Abyss is where we need to go." I explained. We spent what was left of the day stocking up on supplies and just getting prepared in general.

I just hoped we could pull this off without losing another person in the process.

--

**A/N:**** Please excuse the shortness! The real action begins next chapter… I hope you all enjoy what's left of the story. Please don't kill me for what's gonna happen, m'kay? Good.**

**Don't forget to review.**

**Pixii out!**


	34. Chapter 33

**A/N: ****I was dumb enough to delete the file when I tried to save, so I lost the chapter at least 5 times. (Not a good excuse, I know…) At least It's getting posted before Friday, okay??**

**Oh my Arceus you guys! We're 3 reviews away from 300! :O I never thought we'd make it this far, so thanks so much for the support! I can't believe this story's gotten so popular… Hm…We're getting so close to the end! **

**A lot of you guys have been asking for "A Copy" updates lately… It's awesome that you guys love the story, but it's the last priority on my list at the moment, so the earliest you guys will get an update on it is Sunday. (And that's if I'm feeling charitable… -.-'')**

**Whatever… Uh… I hope you guys like this chapter. It took a Hell of a long time to rewrite after my dumb mistake. XD**

**If any of you read my Profile page, (though I don't know who **_**would**_**… I mean, have you seen how long it is?!) I've got some story ideas up. :D I'd like to know which one you like best, so after I finish up TT and Trapped I can start writing it. :D**

**Jebus, talk about a long A/N!**

**--**

After gathering up various supplies we all met back up in front of the Guild, each of us towing heavy Treasure Bags along.

"Are you guys ready?" Marcus asked, to which he received a nod. His eyes then turned a bright blue, and with a flash of light, we were standing in front of an ominous hole.

"Is that the crater?" I asked softly, paranoia taking hold of my slightly. It felt as if I were being watched, though I didn't think I was.

"Yeah... Looks creepy, doesn't it?" Crystal commented. We all nodded in agreement. "We better get down there if you wanna save what's-his-name. His soul won't be easy to get back once it enters the Torn World." she explained.

"I thought it was already there..." I mumbled to myself. The Sableye turned to me.

"It'll stay in the Dark Crater for a week before the soul is compatible with the Torn World. If it's brought out anytime before then the soul will turn into a body." she said. I didn't fully understand what she meant, but decided that it'd become clear when we brought Chris's soul back.

"Well... Let's go." Synth said, being the first to venture into the intimidating hole.

--

The first floor was just one large room, with various Fire and Ground types lazing around. It was a good thing none of them were aggressive enough to attack... We'd need to preserve as much energy as possible for the fight that might ensue with Giratina. The stairs were in sight, just a few feet away. I constantly felt as if I was being watched, but it was probably just due to the atmosphere of the area.

--

The pokemon on the next floor weren't as passive as they were on the previous floor. We had to fight through numerous Fire and Ground types before we reached the stairs... Which were being guarded by a Charmeleon and a Quilava. When we approached the Quilava took a step forward, a solemn scowl on his face.

"Why are you here?" he demanded. To this, Synth stepped in front of the group.

"We need to see Giratina." he explained, authority ringing in his voice. The Charmeleon spoke next.

"So? Do you expect us to let you through?" he asked, smirking.

"We're running out of time. We don't need you in our way." I said.

"Well we won't stand aside until you've beaten us." the Quilava said, his fire egniting.

"You're outnumbered. Do you really think you stand a chance?" Crystal commented from behind us, her toothy grin in place. The Charmeleon raised an eyebrow.

"Do you fight honorably?" he asked.

"Of course we do!" Crystal exclaimed.

"Then let us each take one of you on." the Quilava finished. I raised an eyebrow.

"And I suppose you'll be wanting to choose your opponents?" Marcus guessed, to which they nodded. Crystal muttered something about that being unfair, and I couldn't help but agree.

"Kay, I'm fighting... you." the Quilava said, gesturing toward Synth. He sighed and stepped forward.

"Hm... You." the Charmeleon smirked, pointing a claw at me. When I stepped forward, I noticed just how much larger this pokemon was than me... He must've been close to evolution.

_Crap._

"Well... Begin." Crystal huffed as she and Marcus took a step back.

The Charmeleon lunged at me, his left claw glowing. I growled and used Flamethrower, the powerful pillar of flame stopping him in his tracks. He then used his own, but his aim was horrible. It would've only grazed my side if I hadn't dodged it. He growled at the obvious failure and charged at me, his claw glowing again. Since I wouldn't be able to dodge this time and I couldn't set up a Flamethrower with the time I had, I parried with Slash, my own claw glowing.

"Not as bad as I thought you'd be." he grunted under his breath as I jumped back. I made no comment as I used Flamethrower again. He dodged however, and came charging at me, _again_.

"Don't you ever use long range attacks??" I huffed, narrowly dodging. I winced as his claw grazed my side, drawing some blood. He smirked and charged at me again, but I turned and let him dive head-first into my flame. He screamed and jerked back reflexively, his eyes closed and his claw shielding his face protectively.

"Will you let us pass?" I asked gently, but firmly. He grunted and nodded reluctantly.

"Don't think I'll be this much of a push over next time." he growled.

"I'm hoping there _won't _be a next time." I replied grimly. I looked over to where Synth was fighting the Quilava.

Both were breathing heavily. Synth had some burns on his stomach and right shoulder, but seemed fine aside from that. The Quilava was glaring at him, but then used Flamethrower suddenly. He dodged it swiftly, retaliating with a Leaf Blade. It didn't cause any fatal injury, but the Quilava was thrown back.

"You _will _let us through." Synth ordered, and the Quilava growled again, but let us pass.

--

The next few floors were, luckily, pretty void of Pokemon. We only faught the occational Numel or Hippowdon, but they were taken out quickly by Synth's Grass-type moves.

We were on the seventh floor at the moment, and the Treasure Bag was starting to irritate me. It was heavy because of how much we had packed, and my shoulder was starting to get sore. I sighed and went to reposition it, but the back was plucked from me swiftly. When I looked, Synth had positioned it on his shoulder, an amused glint in his eyes.

"I can carry a bag, Synth." I chuckled. He sighed and shook his head lightly.

"It was bothering you. Besides, you've been carrying it the entire time." he said warmly. I sighed and shook my head.

"Don't complain to me when it starts being a pain." I warned as we got closer to the stairs.

--

We were now on the 15th floor... If what Crystal had been telling us along the way was correct, this was the last floor before we could rest for the night.

The opponents we'd faced after the Quilava and Charmeleon were far stronger. They were lean and merciless from living in this Hell hole for so long, and we'd had to Teleport to a different area on more than one occasion.

Luckily we got to the stairs without any more impediments, and were soon on the middle floor of the cavern. It would've been pitch black if not for my tail flame. It was circular, and didn't look very comfortable, but we settled in for a long night, nonetheless.

--

**A/N: Bah! I hated it! DX The original was so much longer, and better!! At least it's up... /**

**I'll see if I can get an extra chapter in tomorrow. If not, please don't kill me!**

**Pixii out!**


	35. Chapter 34

**A/N: Hi all! Over 300 reviews! :O**

**I expected the story to get like… maybe 50 at the most! Thanks so much for all the support you've given!**

**I'm already plotting out the sequel! It's gonna have a way more original plot than TT did, so that's something to look forward to…**

**MUAHAHAHA! I actually got a chapter up EARLY for once!**

**Guess I should stop stalling and get to the chapter…**

**Enjoy! :3**

**--**

After getting a few hours of sleep, (It wasn't easy to sleep when you felt like you were being watched) I sighed and sat up, watching the others rest. Synth's jaw was clenched, and his body was tensed. It reminded me of the way he looked when he battled. I knew it wasn't a nightmare though, because he was smiling slightly. I shrugged and looked over at the others. Marcus was curled up in a ball on the opposite wall, and Crystal was sprawled out next to him.

I waited for another hour or so as they all rested before waking them.

"Synth, I think we should get moving again..." I whispered gently, nudging his shoulder. He nodded groggily and stood up, blinking sleep from his eyes.

"Okay..." he trailed off, walking toward Marcus and Crystal. "Guys, wake up." he muttered. Crystal and Marcus both yawned as they stood, but were soon ready to leave again.

--

The next floor wasn't as hard as I thought it would be, but it was too dark for even my tail flame to light up for more than one foot ahead of me. We came to a split in the tunnels about twenty minutes in, and we couldn't see ahead to know what was in each of them.

"What do we do?" Crystal asked from behind me.

"Split up." Synth answered, looking back at us. We all nodded, and needless to say, I went with Synth.

The tunnel we took had an eerie feel to it, and I was constantly looking around. Synth soon noticed this.

"Something wrong?" he asked softly.

"No... I just don't like the feeling I'm getting from this place..." I mumbled. He smiled reassuringly.

"I wouldn't let anyone hurt you." he promised. I sighed and leaned my head on his shoulder, a smile on my face. When we entered the next room, there was a Sableye sitting cross-legged in the middle.

"I've been watching your group." he said simply, standing up.

"That's... creepy." I commented as Synth stood in front of me.

"Why?" he asked. The Sableye shrugged.

"Something to do." he said simply. "Name's 'Cheif." he smiled.

"Hi... I'm Pixii." I said.

"Synth." my partner said. "Do you live here?"

"Yep."

"Can you help us get to Giratina?" he asked. The Sableye smiled broader.

"Sure. I know all the shortcuts. You won't run into any savage Pokemon while I'm around." he promised. I shrugged, and Synth sighed.

"Let's get back to the others." he murmured, leading us back the way we came. When we reached them, Crystal and Marcus were waiting at the stairs.

--

True to his word, 'Cheif led us through floors quickly, and we didn't have to face any other Pokemon at all. We stopped to eat once, but were soon back on our way. It only got darker and hotter as we went on, but it didn't effect me much... Synth, on the other hand, was sweltering by the tenth floor.

--

When we reached the 14th, all of us were pretty wiped out, despite having gotten through so quickly.

"This is all I can help you with." 'Cheif said quickly before Teleporting away. It was odd how suddenly he left, but he might've just wanted to leave. Suddenly the room turned brighter, and I looked at Synth.

"Luminous Orb?" I guessed. He nodded and chuckled. The stairs were in sight, and easily accessed. Crystal smiled toothily and rushed toward them, but a Protect flared up out of no where, knocking her back. A black Pokemon appeared behind the Protect a moment later.

"What is that??" I whispered quickly to Synth.

"... Darkrai." he mumbled back. "He's the Legendary dark-type... It's said that he gives never ending nightmares to those he encounters while they sleep..." he explained. The Darkrai started to set up a powerful looking attack.

"Leave." he said simply, the blue orb he was creating getting bigger. I flinched, awaiting whatever attack he would launch.

...

But a small Pokemon teleported in, floating fearlessly toward the Darkrai.

"Let's play dress-up Hekiashi!!" she exclaimed excitedly, Teleporting them both away.

"That was... odd." Crystal commented. "Let's go."

--

When we arrived on the next floor the Darkrai from earlier was... dressed in a pink scarf, and had bows on his head. I had trouble controlling my laughter. He glared at us though, and teleported out.

"Aww!" came a voice as the same small Pokemon from earlier appeared.

"Excuse me..." I started. The baby pokemon turned and smiled.

"Wanna play dress up?" she asked eagerly, bows and scarves floating around.

"We were actually looking for Giratina..." I explained.

"That's me!" she giggled. "What do ya want?" she asked sweetly, doing small loops in the air.

"I imagined you... bigger." Synth mumbled. "We wanted to bring back our friend's soul." he explained. The small Legendary giggled.

"What is your friend?"

"A male Abra." I said. She pouted.

"His soul's really boring. He didn't wanna play dress up! You can have 'im." she said. Out of no where a pale yellow Special Band with brown markings dropped in front of us.

"That's his soul. Just let some light shine on him and he'll return to his non playful Abra self." she explained before teleporting away.

"Tellah's more fun than you are, Hekiashi!" she exclaimed as her form disappeared.

"Guess we'd better get your... er... friend back to the surface world." Crystal said awkwardly. Synth nodded and took out our Exploration Badge. After he pushed the button, we were teleported back to the front of the Guild.

It was already passed sunset, and the sky was turning a navy color. Lily was waiting outside, however.

"Did you bring him back?!" she asked excitedly, bounding over.

"Yes... You'll need to put this Special Band in the sunlight tomorrow for him to be fully back though." I explained gently, handing said item to her. She nodded and clutched it protectively as she skipped back inside.

"Guess we better be going. We're needed elsewhere." Marcus stated from behind us.

"Bye... Good luck." I said, smiling.

"Thanks for all your help." Synth added. They nodded and Marcus teleported them away. We were about to walk inside and get something to eat when a shrill voice called out from behind.

"Synthesis!"

_Damn._

**--**

**A/N: There! Now... Who do we know that calls our beloved Grovyle Synthesis?**

**Tellah is Slazer's. (Though we never saw him, he was referenced...) 'Cheif and Letmis are CIAD's. Hekiashi is Pikky's. **

**Pikky: Please don't kill meh for that beautiful scene?? :3 ****... ****--'**

**Don't forget to review, okay?**

**Pixii out!**


	36. IGNORE THIS

**IGNORE THIS!! **


	37. Chapter 35

**A/N: First off, I'd like to say that _Pixii is MINE! _**

**Red's Surfing Pikachu, please change the name of "Pixii Mander" immediately. I do not appreciate the name-stealing. Though I am honored to have such a dedicated fan, this irks me to no end.**

**And do not use "Pixii, out" as a sign off. Just because you use a comma in between the words does not make this your's.**

**The name of the sequel is still being decided, but I've taken a fancy to "PMD: The Gem of the Sea" (Thanks, Will!) If anyone has other suggestions, though, I'd gladly take them into consideration.**

**Hmm… I'd like this chapter more if it weren't so bland.**

**Blah.**

**--**

I gasped and turned around. Synth's aunt, (I think her name was Daisy?) stood in front of us, with her arms crossed and an angry glint in her eyes.

"Synthesis, what is the meaning of this?!" she growled. He sighed and stood in front of me.

"How'd you find me?" he asked tiredly.

"Do you really think I'd forget about my own nephew?" she asked, feigning hurt.

"You did up until about four months ago." he retorted sharply.

"Look, I simply came back to get my darling nephew and bring him home." she hissed. Synth glared at her and took my claw in his own.

"I am home." he said strongly. My heart welled at the certainty in his voice, and I rested my head on his shoulder. She narrowed her eyes and sent a Razor Leaf our way, us narrowly dodging it.

"What the Hell?!" I growled.

"I am bringing my nephew home." she stated.

"What the Hell! Am I invisible?" Synth murmured under his breath before staring strait at the Sceptile. "I. Refuse. To. Go." he said simply, his eyes blazing in hidden anger. She glared back angrily.

"I will not hesitate to kill this mate of your's, Synthesis." she smirked. He raised an eyebrow.

"Do you honestly think I'd let you touch her?" he asked rhetorically. She cocked her head to the side haughtily.

"Did you know I used to work for the police force, Synthesis?" she smiled wickedly. Both of us shook our heads, though I was sure the Sceptile was ignoring me.

"No…" he replied cautiously. She laughed.

"I brought in criminals from all around the world; I was quite well known in my prime." she boasted. "I even got my insubordinates to kill a wanted Charizard around a year back." she stared strait at me, her gleaming eyes daring me to make a connection.

It's too bad I did.

"Are you're insubordinates… Houndoom?" I asked cautiously, hoping beyond hope that this couldn't be the same situation. She nodded.

So it was… I could live with that.

"YOU BITCH!" I snarled, charging forward with my claws glowing and fire burning up my throat.

…Maybe not.

But could you really blame me? This Sceptile was indirectly the cause of my parents' deaths. The reason I no longer had my mother. The reason I was deathly afraid of Houndoom now. The reason I'd ever met Scar and his gang… The reason Synth had suffered so much pain on my account.

The Sceptile leapt to the side quickly, laughing pettily. She then did an odd dance; pink petals flying from seemingly nowhere toward me. I launched my Flamethrower though, burning them before they reached me. She smirked and raced at me next with her Leaf Blades in place. Before she got a chance to reach me Synth lurched at her, his own Leaf Blades active.

--

He jumped lithely back as she tried to slice him with a particularly powerful blow. Both of them were covered in cuts; though Daisy had some burns... I wasn't going to sit back and watch my love battle it out with his final evolve form alone, after all.

"I'll kill you both, Synthesis... You don't deserve life after... going... against your own family..." she panted angrily.We glowered at her angrily, each of our hatreds showing.

...And in a flurry of fire and razor sharp leaves, Daisy was no more.

I looked upon the lifeless body with sad eyes; I didn't like to see death, even if it was someone as cruel as Scar or Daisy... Synth pulled me in for a hug before leading me away from the scene.

--

We were now in our room, sitting in silence... Just thinking, I suppose.

"...Synth?" I asked quietly, leaning my head on his shoulder.

"Hm?"

"Are you alright?" I asked. Ever since we'd gotten inside the Guild he'd been silent, his golden eyes showing concentration. He hadn't even looked where he was going; just gone by instinct. He looked at me now, his eyes softening.

"Of course... Just thinking." he explained shortly.

"About what?" I asked timidly; he smiled slightly.

"Nothing..." he said. I smiled back cautiously.

"Really? You've been thinking about _nothing_ for half an hour?" I asked playfully. He nodded, leaning his forehead on mine.

"Really." he insisted with a smirk.

**--**

**A/N: I snuck that last scene in for a couple of fluff junkies that insist that Charmeleons and Grovyles can kiss. NOW YOU GUYS HASH YOUR FLUFF!!**

**I know a lot of you guys don't know who Droplet is, but it'd be much appreciated if you voted on my poll...**

**And I'd like some suggestions for Pixii and Synth's new theme songs; they're current ones don't define them very well.**

**I know this chapter is super short; but deal with it. XD**

**Don't forget to review.**

**(The real) Pixii out!**


	38. Chapter 36

**A/N: ****... I'm so proud of TT; and how far we've come. When I started writing this back in June I never thought this story would even get a second glance; I'm completely astounded at how far we've come. With over 350 reviews, over 8,000 hits, and about 80 favorites/alerts to date; it's simply amazing. **

**We never could've come this far without you guys; the encouragement (and occational prod) you give me is the only thing that keeps a smile on my face; I'm actually tearing up as I write this right now.**

**Synth and Pixii have developed tremendously, and branched far away from their original designs; but only with the kind critisism given by you guys.**

**My grammar and writing skills; oh gosh, it's simply amazing how much they've improved.**

**... It's funny; all the dedications and mentions you've all made to me, when I didn't ask. Simply extraordinary.**

**And I want you all to know that I'd return those mentions and dedications, if I could... There're just so many; and I'm sure I haven't found them all yet!**

**This 12-year-old writer's simply dumbstruck at all the things that've come from this story... And I honestly don't know what else I _can_ say besides thank you.**

**Enjoy this you guys.**

**--**

We stayed talking for the rest of the night; at least until I could barely keep my eyes open, which was close to dawn.

My mind kept running as I rested. I didn't think about anything in particular, just how oddly satisfied I was. I knew who'd indirectly killed my mother, and she was no longer around to hurt others the way she'd hurt Synth and I. When my mind got bored with this subject, it started playing all of the missions we'd done over right in front of me; sort of like a movie.

It kept returning to that tiny Buneary we'd saved though, oddly enough. The smile on her face as she found her mother again tugged at my heart; I wanted to know about that sort of feeling first hand, I suppose.

I didn't exactly know _what _it was about that Buneary; and just as I was about to even come _close_ to understanding, I was woken up.

Harsh sunlight glared in from the window, making me wince as I sat up. Why hadn't Red come in to wake us at dawn, like he usually did?

"Morning..." Synth yawned from his bed, watching me with love glittering in his eyes. "Even though it looks more like noon." he chuckled.

"Yeah..." I nodded in agreement. "Where do you think everyone is? Surely someone would've woken us up..."

"Who knows?..." he chuckled, standing up. "Would you like to find out?" he asked sweetly, offering his claw. I took it with a small smile as we walked out of the room.

----

The hall was empty; I even expected a tumbleweed to roll by as we walked through the long corridor.

"Should we check with the Guildmaster?" Synth asked as we came to the assembly room.

"Why not...?" I shrugged; and with that we came to the intimidating double-doors. Synth raised his arm and knocked; and when the Guildmaster's voice sounded approval, we walking in.

"Guildmaster...?" Synth managed to get out without chuckling as the pink blob looked at us sleepily.

"What?" he asked.

"... You're still in bed." he chuckled.

"So? It's Saturday..." he trailed off drowsily. "I wanna sleep in."

"Um... okay?" he chuckled awkwardly. "We'll just... leave... then." he said, backing out.

Once we were outside we both chuckled slightly.

"Who'dve thought Wigglytuff, of all Pokemon, slept in on the weekend?" I giggled.

"It _is _Wigglytuff we're talking about, love." he smirked.

"Still..." I sighed in amusement.

"He didn't tell us we _had _to go on a mission today..." he trailed off, a rare mischievous smile on his face.

"Go on..." I prodded, my curiosity peaked.

"Would you like to go down to the Beach instead...?" he smiled.

"I'd love to." I smiled, resting my head on his shoulder.

"Great." he murmured as we walked toward the ladder.

----

As we walked down the shore, careful not to get too close to the water, we were content to just move in silence. We didn't need to fill the empty air with conversation; it was fine to just let the sound of the waves keep the silence from being over-bearing.

"Would you like to sit down?" Synth murmured after what felt like blissful, peaceful hours. It might've been, I reflected, as I watched the sun start to go down for the day.

"Sure..." I said quietly back. It felt as if I spoke loudly I would shatter the peaceful calm that'd established itself. He nodded, smiling slightly; and sat down. I followed his lead, and when we were situated; sighed softly and leaned against him. He chuckled beside me as he wrapped his arms around my waist.

"I love you..." he whispered.

"I love you too..." I sighed happily.

Maybe it was because of the salt on the breeze as it disturbed us gently; perhaps the sound of Wingulls in the air, or the fading light. It could've been the fact that I was with Synth, and knew it would stay that way for the rest of our lives; or it might've been that we were on the beach where we'd first met. It didn't matter to me; the simple fact that we were happy, that made it...

Perfect.

_**-The End-**_


	39. Epilogue

**A/N:**** I really need to get off my lazy ass and update more often, don't I? X'D**

**I've decided on the sequel's title, and pretty much all of the planning's been done. =)**

**I'm going to finish every other multi-chap fic I've got going before I start though… It's gonna be a while.**

'**specially since I've planned for AC to be over forty chapters…**

**--**

I looked down at the tiny Treeko in my arms, smiling tenderly at him. He was giggling and looking between my love and I, golden eyes large.

"He's got your smile." Synth murmured from my side.

"He looks more like you, though." I replied softly, leaning into his side. The Grovyle wrapped his arm around my waist, using his other claw to play with the baby.

It had been four years since I had met Synth on the beach. Four blissful years since we'd formed an Exploration Team together.

We had graduated from the Guild some time ago, maybe two and a half years. The "Grand Master of All Things Bad" definitely wasn't what we'd been expecting; we'd had a good laugh afterward, though.

After we left, we had moved to the hidden alcove in Sharpedo Bluff; a Diglette and Dugtrio family had been able to mold rooms from the rock. We've been living in our "house" ever since.

Synth and I had had an egg about five months ago; it had hatched into a beautiful Treeko only days ago. We had already decided on his name: Aaron, after Synth's grandfather.

The Pokemon of Treasure Town had all decided that we needed a port, and work was being done on the beach in preparation constantly. I'd miss the untamed beauty it had before the docks were built, but I wasn't about to complain. I had only been living here for about four years after all. No where near as long as Elder Torkoal, or most other Pokemon, for that matter.

Ace and Pudge had finally evolved and settled down some time ago; they'd cleaned up their acts after Scar died.

Brooklyn had gone to Hoenn with the Poochyena that used to visit every other month; I'd received some letters from her. She had settled down with him; they had six pups.

Olive had evolved fully, into a Bellossom. She had gone to Kanto after Brooklyn left. She was now happily living in Celadon (where ever that is), with a Roserade by the name of Thorn. They have a Budew and an Oddish.

Lily and Chris ended up as the heads of the Guild's new Psychic-Training Program. It was a class that helped young Psychic-type Pokemon harness their abilities. Now they're a Kadabra and Kirlia, respectively.

The Guild was still going strong; not much had changed since Synth and I had graduated. Aside from the frequently-joining new recruits, everything was basically identical to when we were still training there.

Treasure Town, however, had begun building more and more into the forests that surrounded it. The town was more like a small city now, with everything there was. They'd even opened up a daycare, as well as various schools.

I was torn away from my thoughts as Aaron yawned, stretching his arms before huddling toward me; Synth chuckled.

"Guess it's nap time." he murmured with a smile.

"I'll go put him in his nest." I whispered back, about to head toward Aaron's nursery.

"It's alright. I'll do it." Synth offered. After a moment I nodded and handed the baby over, watching as the Grovyle I loved disappeared inside Aaron's room.

It was windy today; I could feel the subtle breeze on my scales and smell the sea-salt in the air. The construction workers had taken today off to help with some problems at the Guild, so the only sounds were the crashing of waves against the shore and the cries of Wingull.

I turned and walked toward the wide mouth-like window, leaning forward and watching the water; it sparkled in the sunlight. I felt a presence beside me a moment later, and turned to smile at my love.

"It's peaceful today, isn't it?" I asked after a moment, looking toward the water once more.

"Very." Synth agreed with a nod. "D'you want to go down there?" he asked suddenly.

"To the beach?" I inquired skeptically. "What about Aaron?"

"He's sleeping. He won't be up for at least two hours." Synth reasoned.

"… Alright. But only for a little while." I decided after a moment; Synth took my claw in his and we walked up the stairs.

And now we've come full circle.


End file.
